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Sample records for relative collection efficiency

  1. Efficient Immutable Collections

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steindorfer, M.J.

    2017-01-01

    This thesis proposes novel and efficient data structures, suitable for immutable collection libraries, that carefully balance memory footprint and runtime performance of operations, and are aware of constraints and platform co-design challenges on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Collection data

  2. An analysis of mobile whole blood collection labor efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, William N; Dayton, Paula J; Raife, Thomas J

    2011-07-01

    Labor efficiency is desirable in mobile blood collection. There are few published data on labor efficiency. The variability in the labor efficiency of mobile whole blood collections was analyzed. We determined to improve our labor efficiency using lean manufacturing principles. Workflow changes in mobile collections were implemented with the goal of minimizing labor expenditures. To measure success, data on labor efficiency measured by units/hour/full-time equivalent (FTE) were collected. The labor efficiency in a 6-month period before the implementation of changes, and in months 1 to 6 and 7 to 12 after implementation was analyzed and compared. Labor efficiency in the 6-month period preceding implementation was 1.06 ± 0.4 units collected/hour/FTE. In months 1 to 6, labor efficiency declined slightly to 0.92 ± 0.4 units collected/hour/FTE (p = 0.016 vs. preimplementation). In months 7 to 12, the mean labor efficiency returned to preimplementation levels of 1.09 ±0.4 units collected/hour/FTE. Regression analysis correlating labor efficiency with total units collected per drive revealed a strong correlation (R(2) = 0.48 for the aggregate data from all three periods), indicating that nearly half of labor efficiency was associated with drive size. The lean-based changes in workflow were subjectively favored by employees and donors. The labor efficiency of our mobile whole blood drives is strongly influenced by size. Larger drives are more efficient, with diminishing returns above 40 units collected. Lean-based workflow changes were positively received by employees and donors. © 2011 American Association of Blood Banks.

  3. 3-dimensional Charge Collection Efficiency

    CERN Document Server

    Kodak, Umut

    2013-01-01

    In this project, we designed a simulation program to create the efficiency map of a 3 dimensional rectangular detector. Efficiency is calculated by observing the collected charge at the output. Using this simulation program, one can observe the inefficient regions at not only on the surface of detector but at the depths of detector.

  4. Ion collection efficiency of ionization chambers in electron beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia, S.; Cecatti, E.R.

    1984-01-01

    When ionization chambers are used in pulsed radiation beams the high-density of ions produced per pulse permits ion recombination, demanding the use of a correction factor. An experimental technique using the charge collected at two different voltages permits the calculation of the ion collection efficiency. The ion collection efficiency of some common ionization chambers in pulsed electron beams were studied as a function of electron energy, dose rate and depth. Accelerators with magnetic scanning system, in which the instantaneous dose rate is much greater than the average dose rate, present a smaller collection efficiency than accelerators with scattering foil. The results lead to the introduction of a correction factor for ion recombination that is the reciprocal of the ion collection efficiency. It is also suggested a simple technique to connect an external variable DC power supply in a Baldwin Farmer dosemeter. (Author) [pt

  5. Numerical calculation of particle collection efficiency in an ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Theoretical and numerical research has been previously done on ESPs to predict the efficiency ... Lagrangian simulations of particle transport in wire–plate ESP were .... The collection efficiency can be defined as the ratio of the number of ...

  6. Platelet collection efficiencies of three different platelet-rich plasma preparation systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aydin, Fatma; Pancar Yuksel, Esra; Albayrak, Davut

    2015-06-01

    Different systems have been used for the preparation of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), but platelet collection efficiencies of these systems are not clear. To evaluate the platelet collection efficiencies of three different PRP preparation systems. Blood samples were obtained from the same 16 volunteers for each system. The samples were centrifuged and PRP was prepared by three systems. The ratio of the total number of platelets in PRP to the total number of platelets of the venous blood sample of the patient expressed in percentage was named as platelet collection efficiency and calculated for each system. Mean platelet collection efficiencies were 66.6 (min: 56.9, max: 76.9), 58.3 (min: 27.3, max: 102.8), 50.8 (min: 27.2, max: 73) for top and bottom bag system, system using citrated tube, and the system using tube with Ficoll and cell extraction kit, respectively. Statistically significant difference was found only between the platelet collection efficiencies of systems using the tube with ficoll and cell extraction kit and the top and bottom bag system (p = 0.002). All three systems could be used for PRP preparation, but top and bottom bag system offers a slight advantage over the system using Ficoll and cell extraction kit regarding the platelet collection efficiency.

  7. Large fog collectors: New strategies for collection efficiency and structural response to wind pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmes, Robert; Rivera, Juan de Dios; de la Jara, Emilio

    2015-01-01

    Most studies of large fog collectors (LFC) have focused on the collection efficiency, the amount of water collected, or economic and social aspects, but have not addressed the effects of strong winds on the system. Wind pressure is directly related to fog water collection efficiency but on the other hand may cause serious damage on the structure of LFCs. This study focuses in the effects of wind pressure on the components of the LFC as an integral system, and the ways to face strong winds with no significant damage. For this purpose we analysed cases of mechanical failure of LFCs both in our experimental station at Peña Blanca in Chile and elsewhere. The effects of wind pressure can be described as a sequence of physical processes, starting with the mesh deformation as a way of adapting to the induced stresses. For a big enough pressure, local stress concentrations generate a progressive rupture of the mesh. In cases where the mesh is sufficiently strong the wind force causes the partial or total collapse of the structure. Usually the weakest part is the mesh, especially close to where it is attached to the structure. The way the mesh is attached to the frame or cable of the structure is particularly important since it can induce significant stress concentrations. Mesh failure before the structure failure may be considered as a mechanical fuse, since it is cheaper to repair. However, more practical mechanical fuses can be conceived. In relation to structural performance and water collection efficiency, we propose a new design strategy that considers a three-dimensional spatial display of the collection screen, oblique incidence angle of wind on mesh and small mesh area between the supporting frame. The proposed design strategies consider both the wind pressure on mesh and structure and the collection efficiency as an integral solution for the LFC. These new design strategies are the final output of this research. Applying these strategies a multi-funnel LFC is

  8. Vehicle routing for the eco-efficient collection of household plastic waste.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bing, Xiaoyun; de Keizer, Marlies; Bloemhof-Ruwaard, Jacqueline M; van der Vorst, Jack G A J

    2014-04-01

    Plastic waste is a special category of municipal solid waste. Plastic waste collection is featured with various alternatives of collection methods (curbside/drop-off) and separation methods (source-/post-separation). In the Netherlands, the collection routes of plastic waste are the same as those of other waste, although plastic is different than other waste in terms of volume to weight ratio. This paper aims for redesigning the collection routes and compares the collection options of plastic waste using eco-efficiency as performance indicator. Eco-efficiency concerns the trade-off between environmental impacts, social issues and costs. The collection problem is modeled as a vehicle routing problem. A tabu search heuristic is used to improve the routes. Collection alternatives are compared by a scenario study approach. Real distances between locations are calculated with MapPoint. The scenario study is conducted based on real case data of the Dutch municipality Wageningen. Scenarios are designed according to the collection alternatives with different assumptions in collection method, vehicle type, collection frequency and collection points, etc. Results show that the current collection routes can be improved in terms of eco-efficiency performance by using our method. The source-separation drop-off collection scenario has the best performance for plastic collection assuming householders take the waste to the drop-off points in a sustainable manner. The model also shows to be an efficient decision support tool to investigate the impacts of future changes such as alternative vehicle type and different response rates. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Standardized Method for Measuring Collection Efficiency from Wipe-sampling of Trace Explosives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verkouteren, Jennifer R; Lawrence, Jeffrey A; Staymates, Matthew E; Sisco, Edward

    2017-04-10

    One of the limiting steps to detecting traces of explosives at screening venues is effective collection of the sample. Wipe-sampling is the most common procedure for collecting traces of explosives, and standardized measurements of collection efficiency are needed to evaluate and optimize sampling protocols. The approach described here is designed to provide this measurement infrastructure, and controls most of the factors known to be relevant to wipe-sampling. Three critical factors (the applied force, travel distance, and travel speed) are controlled using an automated device. Test surfaces are chosen based on similarity to the screening environment, and the wipes can be made from any material considered for use in wipe-sampling. Particle samples of the explosive 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) are applied in a fixed location on the surface using a dry-transfer technique. The particle samples, recently developed to simulate residues made after handling explosives, are produced by inkjet printing of RDX solutions onto polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) substrates. Collection efficiency is measured by extracting collected explosive from the wipe, and then related to critical sampling factors and the selection of wipe material and test surface. These measurements are meant to guide the development of sampling protocols at screening venues, where speed and throughput are primary considerations.

  10. Measuring the efficiency of zakat collection process using data envelopment analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamzah, Ahmad Aizuddin; Krishnan, Anath Rau

    2016-10-01

    It is really necessary for each zakat institution in the nation to timely measure and understand their efficiency in collecting zakat for the sake of continuous betterment. Pusat Zakat Sabah, Malaysia which has kicked off its operation in early of 2007, is not excused from this obligation as well. However, measuring the collection efficiency is not a very easy task as it usually incorporates the consideration of multiple inputs or/and outputs. This paper sequentially employed three data envelopment analysis models, namely Charnes-Cooper-Rhodes (CCR) primal model, CCR dual model, and slack based model to quantitatively evaluate the efficiency of zakat collection in Sabah across the year of 2007 up to 2015 by treating each year as a decision making unit. The three models were developed based on two inputs (i.e. number of zakat branches and number of staff) and one output (i.e. total collection). The causes for not achieving efficiency and the suggestions on how the efficiency in each year could have been improved were disclosed.

  11. Inform: Efficient Information-Theoretic Analysis of Collective Behaviors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Douglas G. Moore

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The study of collective behavior has traditionally relied on a variety of different methodological tools ranging from more theoretical methods such as population or game-theoretic models to empirical ones like Monte Carlo or multi-agent simulations. An approach that is increasingly being explored is the use of information theory as a methodological framework to study the flow of information and the statistical properties of collectives of interacting agents. While a few general purpose toolkits exist, most of the existing software for information theoretic analysis of collective systems is limited in scope. We introduce Inform, an open-source framework for efficient information theoretic analysis that exploits the computational power of a C library while simplifying its use through a variety of wrappers for common higher-level scripting languages. We focus on two such wrappers here: PyInform (Python and rinform (R. Inform and its wrappers are cross-platform and general-purpose. They include classical information-theoretic measures, measures of information dynamics and information-based methods to study the statistical behavior of collective systems, and expose a lower-level API that allow users to construct measures of their own. We describe the architecture of the Inform framework, study its computational efficiency and use it to analyze three different case studies of collective behavior: biochemical information storage in regenerating planaria, nest-site selection in the ant Temnothorax rugatulus, and collective decision making in multi-agent simulations.

  12. Comparison of the solar collection efficiencies of various vinyl house

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, K H; Shin, H N; Lee, D S; Shin, D H; Suh, K B

    1982-01-01

    Three plastic film solar dryers covered with different film layers were constructed by modifying a farm vinyl house and studying their performance. The collection efficiency and temperature raising of type C which was covered with double layers of transparent PE and black PVC film was most efficient, followed by B (which was covered with a double layer of transparent PE film) and type A (which was covered with single layer transparent PE film). The inside temperature of type C averaged 18/sup 0/C higher than ambient temperature and its collection efficiency was 31.5% with air flow rate of 3.8 m/sup 3//min. The solar energy collection efficiency of type C was increased in proportion to air flow rate up to 60.2% at 11.3 m/sup 3//min. In a demonstration drying test of red pepper in type C, drying capacity per unit area was 2.5 times higher than that of conventional solar drying on straw mat and drying time shortened to about half.

  13. Determinants of efficiency in the provision of municipal street-cleaning and refuse collection services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benito-López, Bernardino; Moreno-Enguix, María del Rocio; Solana-Ibañez, José

    2011-06-01

    Effective waste management systems can make critical contributions to public health, environmental sustainability and economic development. The challenge affects every person and institution in society, and measures cannot be undertaken without data collection and a quantitative analysis approach. In this paper, the two-stage double bootstrap procedure of Simar and Wilson (2007) is used to estimate the efficiency determinants of Spanish local entities in the provision of public street-cleaning and refuse collection services. The purpose is to identify factors that influence efficiency. The final sample comprised 1072 municipalities. In the first stage, robust efficiency estimates are obtained with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). We apply the second stage, based on a truncated-regression, to estimate the effect of a group of environmental factors on DEA estimates. The results show the existence of a significant relation between efficiency and all the variables analysed (per capita income, urban population density, the comparative index of the importance of tourism and that of the whole economic activity). We have also considered the influence of a dummy categorical variable - the political sign of the governing party - on the efficient provision of the services under study. The results from the methodology proposed show that municipalities governed by progressive parties are more efficient. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Determinants of efficiency in the provision of municipal street-cleaning and refuse collection services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benito-Lopez, Bernardino; Rocio Moreno-Enguix, Maria del; Solana-Ibanez, Jose

    2011-01-01

    Effective waste management systems can make critical contributions to public health, environmental sustainability and economic development. The challenge affects every person and institution in society, and measures cannot be undertaken without data collection and a quantitative analysis approach. In this paper, the two-stage double bootstrap procedure of is used to estimate the efficiency determinants of Spanish local entities in the provision of public street-cleaning and refuse collection services. The purpose is to identify factors that influence efficiency. The final sample comprised 1072 municipalities. In the first stage, robust efficiency estimates are obtained with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). We apply the second stage, based on a truncated-regression, to estimate the effect of a group of environmental factors on DEA estimates. The results show the existence of a significant relation between efficiency and all the variables analysed (per capita income, urban population density, the comparative index of the importance of tourism and that of the whole economic activity). We have also considered the influence of a dummy categorical variable - the political sign of the governing party - on the efficient provision of the services under study. The results from the methodology proposed show that municipalities governed by progressive parties are more efficient.

  15. Digital voice recording: An efficient alternative for data collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mark A. Rumble; Thomas M. Juntti; Thomas W. Bonnot; Joshua J. Millspaugh

    2009-01-01

    Study designs are usually constrained by logistical and budgetary considerations that can affect the depth and breadth of the research. Little attention has been paid to increasing the efficiency of data recording. Digital voice recording and translation may offer improved efficiency of field personnel. Using this technology, we increased our data collection by 55...

  16. Full cost accounting in the analysis of separated waste collection efficiency: A methodological proposal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Onza, Giuseppe; Greco, Giulio; Allegrini, Marco

    2016-02-01

    Recycling implies additional costs for separated municipal solid waste (MSW) collection. The aim of the present study is to propose and implement a management tool - the full cost accounting (FCA) method - to calculate the full collection costs of different types of waste. Our analysis aims for a better understanding of the difficulties of putting FCA into practice in the MSW sector. We propose a FCA methodology that uses standard cost and actual quantities to calculate the collection costs of separate and undifferentiated waste. Our methodology allows cost efficiency analysis and benchmarking, overcoming problems related to firm-specific accounting choices, earnings management policies and purchase policies. Our methodology allows benchmarking and variance analysis that can be used to identify the causes of off-standards performance and guide managers to deploy resources more efficiently. Our methodology can be implemented by companies lacking a sophisticated management accounting system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Simple Methods to Approximate CPC Shape to Preserve Collection Efficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Jafrancesco

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The compound parabolic concentrator (CPC is the most efficient reflective geometry to collect light to an exit port. Anyway, to allow its actual use in solar plants or photovoltaic concentration systems, a tradeoff between system efficiency and cost reduction, the two key issues for sunlight exploitation, must be found. In this work, we analyze various methods to model an approximated CPC aimed to be simpler and more cost-effective than the ideal one, as well as to preserve the system efficiency. The manufacturing easiness arises from the use of truncated conic surfaces only, which can be realized by cheap machining techniques. We compare different configurations on the basis of their collection efficiency, evaluated by means of nonsequential ray-tracing software. Moreover, due to the fact that some configurations are beam dependent and for a closer approximation of a real case, the input beam is simulated as nonsymmetric, with a nonconstant irradiance on the CPC internal surface.

  18. The impact of an efficient collection sites location on the zoning phase in municipal solid waste management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ghiani, Gianpaolo, E-mail: gianpaolo.ghiani@unisalento.it; Manni, Andrea, E-mail: andrea.manni@unisalento.it; Manni, Emanuele, E-mail: emanuele.manni@unisalento.it; Toraldo, Massimiliano, E-mail: massimiliano.toraldo@unisalento.it

    2014-11-15

    Highlights: • We study the problems of locating collection areas and zoning the service territory in a municipal waste management system. • We investigate the impact that an efficient collection sites location has on the subsequent zoning phase. • On a real-world test case, we show that the proposed approach could allow achieving significant monetary savings. - Abstract: In this paper, we study two decisional problems arising when planning the collection of solid waste, namely the location of collection sites (together with bin allocation) and the zoning of the service territory, and we assess the potential impact that an efficient location has on the subsequent zoning phase. We first propose both an exact and a heuristic approach to locate the unsorted waste collection bins in a residential town, and to decide the capacities and characteristics of the bins to be located at each collection site. A peculiar aspect we consider is that of taking into account the compatibility between the different types of bins when allocating them to collection areas. Moreover, we propose a fast and effective heuristic approach to identify homogeneous zones that can be served by a single collection vehicle. Computational results on data related to a real-life instance show that an efficient location is fundamental in achieving consistent monetary savings, as well as a reduced environmental impact. These reductions are the result of one vehicle less needed to perform the waste collection operations, and an overall traveled distance reduced by about 25% on the average.

  19. 3-dimensional charge collection efficiency measurements using volumetric tomographic reconstruction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dobos, Daniel [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland)

    2016-07-01

    For a better understanding of the electrical field distribution of 3D semiconductor detectors and to allow efficiency based design improvements, a method to measure the 3D spatial charge collection efficiency of planar, 3D silicon and diamond sensors using 3D volumetric reconstruction techniques is possible. Simulation results and first measurements demonstrated the feasibility of this method and show that with soon available 10 times faster beam telescopes even small structures and efficiency differences will become measurable in few hours.

  20. Improving Remote Species Identification through Efficient Training Data Collection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claire A. Baldeck

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Plant species identification and mapping based on remotely-sensed spectral signatures is a challenging task with the potential to contribute enormously to ecological studies. Success in this task rests upon the appropriate collection and use of costly field-based training data, and researchers are in need of ways to improve collection efficiency based on quantitative evidence. Using imaging spectrometer data collected by the Carnegie Airborne Observatory for hundreds of field-identified tree crowns in Kruger National Park, South Africa, we developed woody plant species classification models and evaluated how classification accuracy increases with increasing numbers of training crowns. First, we show that classification accuracy must be estimated while respecting the crown as the basic unit of data; otherwise, accuracy will be overestimated and the amount of training data needed to perform successful classification will be underestimated. We found that classification accuracy and the number of training crowns needed to perform successful classification varied depending on the number and spectral separability of species in the model. We also used a modified Michaelis-Menten function to describe the empirical relationship between training crowns and model accuracy, and show how this function may be useful for predicting accuracy. This framework can assist researchers in designing field campaigns to maximize the efficiency of field data collection, and thus the amount of biodiversity information gained from remote species identification models.

  1. Storying energy consumption: Collective video storytelling in energy efficiency social marketing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Ross; Waitt, Gordon; Cooper, Paul; Butler, Katherine

    2018-05-01

    Despite calls for more socio-technical research on energy, there is little practical advice to how narratives collected through qualitative research may be melded with technical knowledge from the physical sciences such as engineering and then applied in energy efficiency social action strategies. This is despite established knowledge in the environmental management literature about domestic energy use regarding the utility of social practice theory and narrative framings that socialise everyday consumption. Storytelling is positioned in this paper both as a focus for socio-technical energy research, and as one potential practical tool that can arguably enhance energy efficiency interventions. We draw upon the literature on everyday social practices, and storytelling, to present our framework called 'collective video storytelling' that combines scientific and lay knowledge about domestic energy use to offer a practical tool for energy efficiency management. Collective video storytelling is discussed in the context of Energy+Illawarra, a 3-year cross-disciplinary collaboration between social marketers, human geographers, and engineers to target energy behavioural change within older low-income households in regional NSW, Australia. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Influences of gas stream conditions on efficiency of tritiated moisture collection with P2O5-desiccant and isotope effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kotoh, Kenji; Miura, Katsuya; Kashio, Yousuke; Nishikawa, Masabumi

    1991-01-01

    A method was proposed previously for collection and measurement of tritiated moisture in gas stream using P 2 O 5 -desiccant. Influences of the gas humidity, the gas flow rate and the distance between gas nozzle and P 2 O 5 -desiccant layer surface on the moisture collection efficiency have been examined through experiments, and the isotope effect on the collection has been investigated. The collection efficiency is the ratio of collected to supplied moisture, and the moisture supplying rate is in proportion to the humidity and flow rate of feed gas. The experiments show that; the collection efficiency dose not depend on the gas humidity, but is affected by the gas flow rate and by the nozzle-layer distance. The effects of the flow rate and the nozzle position are related to the mass transfer distance from the bulk of gas stream to the desiccant layer surface in the collection cell. The moisture collecting rate is promoted by the approach of the gas stream to the layer surface. An expression of effective separation factor has been derived to explain the isotope effect on the moisture collection. Experimental data distribution of the separation factor have been reasonably simulated by the analysis. (author)

  3. Modeling the efficiency of a magnetic needle for collecting magnetic cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Butler, Kimberly S; Lovato, Debbie M; Larson, Richard S; Adolphi, Natalie L; Bryant, H C; Flynn, Edward R

    2014-01-01

    As new magnetic nanoparticle-based technologies are developed and new target cells are identified, there is a critical need to understand the features important for magnetic isolation of specific cells in fluids, an increasingly important tool in disease research and diagnosis. To investigate magnetic cell collection, cell-sized spherical microparticles, coated with superparamagnetic nanoparticles, were suspended in (1) glycerine–water solutions, chosen to approximate the range of viscosities of bone marrow, and (2) water in which 3, 5, 10 and 100% of the total suspended microspheres are coated with magnetic nanoparticles, to model collection of rare magnetic nanoparticle-coated cells from a mixture of cells in a fluid. The magnetic microspheres were collected on a magnetic needle, and we demonstrate that the collection efficiency versus time can be modeled using a simple, heuristically-derived function, with three physically-significant parameters. The function enables experimentally-obtained collection efficiencies to be scaled to extract the effective drag of the suspending medium. The results of this analysis demonstrate that the effective drag scales linearly with fluid viscosity, as expected. Surprisingly, increasing the number of non-magnetic microspheres in the suspending fluid results increases the collection of magnetic microspheres, corresponding to a decrease in the effective drag of the medium. (paper)

  4. Modeling the efficiency of a magnetic needle for collecting magnetic cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, Kimberly S.; Adolphi, Natalie L.; Bryant, H. C.; Lovato, Debbie M.; Larson, Richard S.; Flynn, Edward R.

    2014-07-01

    As new magnetic nanoparticle-based technologies are developed and new target cells are identified, there is a critical need to understand the features important for magnetic isolation of specific cells in fluids, an increasingly important tool in disease research and diagnosis. To investigate magnetic cell collection, cell-sized spherical microparticles, coated with superparamagnetic nanoparticles, were suspended in (1) glycerine-water solutions, chosen to approximate the range of viscosities of bone marrow, and (2) water in which 3, 5, 10 and 100% of the total suspended microspheres are coated with magnetic nanoparticles, to model collection of rare magnetic nanoparticle-coated cells from a mixture of cells in a fluid. The magnetic microspheres were collected on a magnetic needle, and we demonstrate that the collection efficiency versus time can be modeled using a simple, heuristically-derived function, with three physically-significant parameters. The function enables experimentally-obtained collection efficiencies to be scaled to extract the effective drag of the suspending medium. The results of this analysis demonstrate that the effective drag scales linearly with fluid viscosity, as expected. Surprisingly, increasing the number of non-magnetic microspheres in the suspending fluid results increases the collection of magnetic microspheres, corresponding to a decrease in the effective drag of the medium.

  5. Change in dust collection efficiency of liquid collectors in conditions of dedusting liquid recirculation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krawczyk Janusz

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The high efficiency of industrial wet scrubbers is the result of a simultaneous formation of dust particle collectors. Collectors can be understood as droplets of atomised liquid, bubbles formed in the conditions of intensive barbotage, liquid surface and wet surfaces. All collectors are formed during the operation of a circulating unit. The efficiency of dust collection process also depends on the ability of dust particles to be absorbed by collectors. The study provides an experimental analysis of the effect of the increasing concentration of a dust collection liquid in the conditions of full liquid recirculation on the efficiency of dust collection process in the examined types of collectors.

  6. Impact of geometry on light collection efficiency of scintillation detectors for cryogenic rare event searches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Danevich, F.A.; Kobychev, V.V.; Kobychev, R.V.; Kraus, H.; Mikhailik, V.B.; Mokina, V.M.; Solsky, I.M.

    2014-01-01

    Simulations of photon propagation in scintillation detectors were performed with the aim to find the optimal scintillator geometry, surface treatment, and shape of external reflector in order to achieve maximum light collection efficiency for detector configurations that avoid direct optical coupling, a situation that is commonly found in cryogenic scintillating bolometers in experimental searches for double beta decay and dark matter. To evaluate the light collection efficiency of various geometrical configurations we used the ZEMAX ray-tracing software. It was found that scintillators in the shape of a triangular prism with an external mirror shaped as truncated cone gives the highest light collection efficiency. The results of the simulations were confirmed by carrying out measurements of the light collection efficiencies of CaWO 4 crystal scintillators. A comparison of simulated and measured values of light output shows good agreement

  7. High antipredatory efficiency of insular lizards: a warning signal of excessive specimen collection?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Delibes

    Full Text Available We live-captured lizards on islands in the Gulf of California and the Baja California peninsula mainland, and compared their ability to escape predation. Contrary to expectations, endemic lizard species from uninhabited islands fled from humans earlier and more efficiently than those from peninsular mainland areas. In fact, 58.2% (n=146 of the lizards we tried to capture on the various islands escaped successfully, while this percentage was only 14.4% (n=160 on the peninsular mainland. Separate evidence (e.g., proportion of regenerated tails, low human population at the collection areas, etc. challenges several potential explanations for the higher antipredatory efficiency of insular lizards (e.g., more predation pressure on islands, habituation to humans on the peninsula, etc.. Instead, we suggest that the ability of insular lizards to avoid predators may be related to harvesting by humans, perhaps due to the value of endemic species as rare taxonomic entities. If this hypothesis is correct, predation-related behavioral changes in rare species could provide early warning signals of their over-exploitation, thus encouraging the adoption of conservation measures.

  8. CHAPTER 6. Biomimetic Materials for Efficient Atmospheric Water Collection

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Lianbin

    2016-02-23

    Water scarcity is a severe problem in semi-arid desert regions, land-scarce countries and in countries with high levels of economic activity. In these regions, the collection of atmospheric water - for example, fog - is recognized as an important method of providing water. In nature, through millions of year evolution, some animals and plants in many of the arid regions have developed unique and highly efficient systems with delicate microstructures and composition for the purpose of fog collection to survive the harsh conditions. With the unique ability of fog collection, these creatures could readily cope with insufficient access to fresh water or lack of precipitation. These natural examples have inspired the design and fabrication of artificial fog collection materials and devices. In this chapter, we will first introduce some natural examples for their unique fog collection capability, and then give some examples of the bioinspired materials and devices that are fabricated artificially to mimic these natural creatures for the purpose of fog collection. We believe that the biomimetic strategy is one of the most promising routes for the design and fabrication of functional materials and devices for the solution of the global water crisis.

  9. High Efficiency Inverted Organic Solar Cells with a Neutral Fulleropyrrolidine Electron Collecting Interlayer

    KAUST Repository

    Xu, Weidong

    2016-05-20

    A novel fulleropyrrolidine derivative, named as FPNOH, was designed, synthesized and utilized as an efficient electron-collecting (EC) layer for inverted organic solar cells (i-OSCs). The grafted diethanolamino-polar moieties can not only trigger its function as an EC interlayer, but also induce orthogonal solubility that guarantees subsequent multi-layer processing without interfacial mixing. A higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) value of 8.34% was achieved for i-OSC devices with ITO/FPNOH EC electrode, compared to that of the sol-gel ZnO based reference devices with an optimized PCE value of 7.92%. High efficiency exceeding 7.7% was still achieved even for the devices with a relatively thick PFNOH film (16.9 nm). It is worthwhile to mention that this kind of material exhibits less thickness dependent performance, in contrast to widely utilized p-type conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) as well as the non-conjugated polyelectrolytes (NCPEs). Further investigation on illuminating intensity dependent parameters revealed the role of FPNOH in reducing interfacial traps-induced recombination at ITO/active layer interface.

  10. High Efficiency Inverted Organic Solar Cells with a Neutral Fulleropyrrolidine Electron Collecting Interlayer

    KAUST Repository

    Xu, Weidong; Yan, Congfei; Kan, Zhipeng; Wang, Yang; Lai, Wen-Yong; Huang, Wei

    2016-01-01

    A novel fulleropyrrolidine derivative, named as FPNOH, was designed, synthesized and utilized as an efficient electron-collecting (EC) layer for inverted organic solar cells (i-OSCs). The grafted diethanolamino-polar moieties can not only trigger its function as an EC interlayer, but also induce orthogonal solubility that guarantees subsequent multi-layer processing without interfacial mixing. A higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) value of 8.34% was achieved for i-OSC devices with ITO/FPNOH EC electrode, compared to that of the sol-gel ZnO based reference devices with an optimized PCE value of 7.92%. High efficiency exceeding 7.7% was still achieved even for the devices with a relatively thick PFNOH film (16.9 nm). It is worthwhile to mention that this kind of material exhibits less thickness dependent performance, in contrast to widely utilized p-type conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) as well as the non-conjugated polyelectrolytes (NCPEs). Further investigation on illuminating intensity dependent parameters revealed the role of FPNOH in reducing interfacial traps-induced recombination at ITO/active layer interface.

  11. High Efficiency XAFS Data Collection With Sub-Nanosecond Time Resolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brewe, Dale; Heald, Steve M.; Stern, Edward; Beck, Kenneth M.; Feng, Yejun

    2004-01-01

    Synchrotron-based laser pump/x-ray probe experiments on a ns or faster time scale have typically used ultrafast lasers suffering from the limitation of low repetition rates on the order of 1-10 kHz. This severely limits the data collection efficiency, since the x-ray bunches repeat at a much higher rate. This is particularly critical for XAFS experiments, which require very large S/N ratios (∼ 104 or better) to extract useful EXAFS far above the absorption edge. PNC-CAT has developed an apparatus based on a laser repeating at the rate of the APS bunch repetition frequency of 272 kHz, allowing an increase in data collection efficiency by two orders of magnitude. We have used this apparatus to obtain preliminary results for the time-resolved EXAFS from a 200nm thick polycrystalline Ge film which has been heated by the laser

  12. Collective Psychological Ownership and Intergroup Relations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verkuyten, Maykel; Martinovic, Borja

    2017-11-01

    Whereas much social psychological research has studied the in-group and out-group implications of social categorization and collective identity ("we"), little research has examined the nature and relevance of collective psychological ownership ("ours") for intergroup relations. We make a case for considering collective psychological ownership as an important source of intergroup tensions. We do so by integrating theory and research from various social sciences, and we draw out implications for future social psychological research on intergroup relations. We discuss collective psychological ownership in relation to the psychology of possessions, marking behavior, intergroup threats, outgroup exclusion, and in-group responsibility. We suggest that the social psychological processes discussed apply to a range of ownership objects (territory, buildings, cultural artifacts) and various intergroup settings, including international, national, and local contexts, and in organizations and communities. We conclude by providing directions for future research in different intergroup contexts.

  13. Charge collection efficiency and resolution of an irradiated double-sided silicon microstrip detector operated at cryogenic temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borer, K.; Janos, S.; Palmieri, V.G.; Buytaert, J.; Chabaud, V.; Chochula, P.; Collins, P.; Dijkstra, H.; Niinikoski, T.O.; Lourenco, C.; Parkes, C.; Saladino, S.; Ruf, T.; Granata, V.; Pagano, S.; Vitobello, F.; Bell, W.; Bartalini, P.; Dormond, O.; Frei, R.; Casagrande, L.; Bowcock, T.; Barnett, I.B.M.; Da Via, C.; Konorov, I.; Paul, S.; Schmitt, L.; Ruggiero, G.; Stavitski, I.; Esposito, A.

    2000-01-01

    This paper presents results on the measurement of the cluster shapes, resolution and charge collection efficiency of a double-sided silicon microstrip detector after irradiation with 24 GeV protons to a fluence of 3.5x10 14 p/cm 2 and operated at cryogenic temperatures. An empirical model is presented which describes the expected cluster shapes as a function of depletion depth, and is shown to agree with the data. It is observed that the clusters on the p-side broaden if the detector is under-depleted, leading to a degradation of resolution and efficiency. The model is used to make predictions for detector types envisaged for the LHC experiments. The results also show that at cryogenic temperature the charge collection efficiency varies depending on the operating conditions of the detector and can reach values of 100% at unexpectedly low bias voltage. By analysing the cluster shapes it is shown that these variations are due to changes in depletion depth. This phenomenon, known as the 'Lazarus effect', can be related to similar recent observations on diode behaviour

  14. Fine-tuning of the spectral collection efficiency in multilayer junctions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandes, M.; Fantoni, A.; Louro, P.; Lavareda, G.; Carvalho, N.; Schwarz, R.; Vieira, M.

    2006-01-01

    a-SiC:H/a-Si:H p-i-n/p-i-n tandem cells with different i-layer thickness have been produced by PECVD and tested for a proper fine-tuning of the spectral collection efficiency. The tandem structure takes advantage on the radiation wavelength selectivity due to the different light penetration depth inside the a-Si:H and a-SiC:H absorbers. The thickness and the absorption coefficient of the front p-i-n cell were optimized for blue collection and red transmittance and the thickness of the back one adjusted to achieve full absorption in the green and high collection in the red spectral ranges. Preliminary results show that device optimization for red detection can be obtained by reducing the thickness of the internal recombination junction while by increasing the intrinsic layer of the bottom a-Si:H cell, a better detection of the green color under appropriated applied voltages is foreseen. The physics behind the device functioning is explained through a numerical simulation of the internal electrical configuration of the device in dark and under different wavelength irradiations. Considerations about conduction band offsets, electrical field profiles and inversion layers will be taken into account to explain the optical and voltage bias dependence of the spectral response. Experimental results about the spectral collection efficiency are presented and discussed from the point of view of the color sensor applications

  15. 76 FR 28034 - Labor-Management Relations Information Collection Requests

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-13

    ... FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE Labor-Management Relations Information Collection... of Subjects Labor-management relations, employee management relations, and Information collection... opportunity to comment on the following information collection requests. The information collection requests...

  16. 78 FR 29749 - Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; Agency Information Collection Extension

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; Agency Information Collection Extension AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE..., DC 20503 And to Mr. Dana O'Hara, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE- 2G), U.S...

  17. SU-C-201-03: Ionization Chamber Collection Efficiency in Pulsed Radiation Fields of High Pulse Dose

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gotz, M; Karsch, L [Oncoray - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany); Pawelke, J [Oncoray - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany); Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: To investigate the reduction of collection efficiency of ionization chambers (IC) by volume recombination and its correction in pulsed fields of very high pulse dose. Methods: Measurements of the collection efficiency of a plane-parallel advanced Markus IC (PTW 34045, 1mm electrode spacing, 300V nominal voltage) were obtained for collection voltages of 100V and 300V by irradiation with a pulsed electron beam (20MeV) of varied pulse dose up to approximately 600mGy (0.8nC liberated charge). A reference measurement was performed with a Faraday cup behind the chamber. It was calibrated for the liberated charge in the IC by a linear fit of IC measurement to reference measurement at low pulse doses. The results were compared to the commonly used two voltage approximation (TVA) and to established theories for volume recombination, with and without considering a fraction of free electrons. In addition, an equation system describing the charge transport and reactions in the chamber was solved numerically. Results: At 100V collection voltage and moderate pulse doses the established theories accurately predict the observed collection efficiency, but at extreme pulse doses a fraction of free electrons needs to be considered. At 300V the observed collection efficiency deviates distinctly from that predicted by any of the established theories, even at low pulse doses. However, the numeric solution of the equation system is able to reproduce the measured collection efficiency across the entire dose range of both voltages with a single set of parameters. Conclusion: At high electric fields (3000V/cm here) the existing theoretical descriptions of collection efficiency, including the TVA, are inadequate to predict pulse dose dependency. Even at low pulse doses they might underestimate collection efficiency. The presented, more accurate numeric solution, which considers additional effects like electric shielding by the charges, might provide a valuable tool for future

  18. SU-C-201-03: Ionization Chamber Collection Efficiency in Pulsed Radiation Fields of High Pulse Dose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gotz, M; Karsch, L; Pawelke, J

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate the reduction of collection efficiency of ionization chambers (IC) by volume recombination and its correction in pulsed fields of very high pulse dose. Methods: Measurements of the collection efficiency of a plane-parallel advanced Markus IC (PTW 34045, 1mm electrode spacing, 300V nominal voltage) were obtained for collection voltages of 100V and 300V by irradiation with a pulsed electron beam (20MeV) of varied pulse dose up to approximately 600mGy (0.8nC liberated charge). A reference measurement was performed with a Faraday cup behind the chamber. It was calibrated for the liberated charge in the IC by a linear fit of IC measurement to reference measurement at low pulse doses. The results were compared to the commonly used two voltage approximation (TVA) and to established theories for volume recombination, with and without considering a fraction of free electrons. In addition, an equation system describing the charge transport and reactions in the chamber was solved numerically. Results: At 100V collection voltage and moderate pulse doses the established theories accurately predict the observed collection efficiency, but at extreme pulse doses a fraction of free electrons needs to be considered. At 300V the observed collection efficiency deviates distinctly from that predicted by any of the established theories, even at low pulse doses. However, the numeric solution of the equation system is able to reproduce the measured collection efficiency across the entire dose range of both voltages with a single set of parameters. Conclusion: At high electric fields (3000V/cm here) the existing theoretical descriptions of collection efficiency, including the TVA, are inadequate to predict pulse dose dependency. Even at low pulse doses they might underestimate collection efficiency. The presented, more accurate numeric solution, which considers additional effects like electric shielding by the charges, might provide a valuable tool for future

  19. A study of light collection efficiency in scintillation detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiaoguang, Y.

    1984-01-01

    A group of computer programs was set up to study the light collection efficiency in scintillation detectors with rectangular cross sections. The input conditions can be chosen arbitrarily, including: the size, light attenuation length and refraction index of the scintillator and light guide, the refraction index of the coupling medium, the reflection characteristics of the walls, and the position of light sources. A few examples are discussed in this article. (orig.)

  20. Development of a double-layered ceramic filter for aerosol filtration at high-temperatures: the filter collection efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Freitas, Normanda L; Gonçalves, José A S; Innocentini, Murilo D M; Coury, José R

    2006-08-25

    The performance of double-layered ceramic filters for aerosol filtration at high temperatures was evaluated in this work. The filtering structure was composed of two layers: a thin granular membrane deposited on a reticulate ceramic support of high porosity. The goal was to minimize the high pressure drop inherent of granular structures, without decreasing their high collection efficiency for small particles. The reticulate support was developed using the technique of ceramic replication of polyurethane foam substrates of 45 and 75 pores per inch (ppi). The filtering membrane was prepared by depositing a thin layer of granular alumina-clay paste on one face of the support. Filters had their permeability and fractional collection efficiency analyzed for filtration of an airborne suspension of phosphatic rock in temperatures ranging from ambient to 700 degrees C. Results revealed that collection efficiency decreased with gas temperature and was enhanced with filtration time. Also, the support layer influenced the collection efficiency: the 75 ppi support was more effective than the 45 ppi. Particle collection efficiency dropped considerably for particles below 2 microm in diameter. The maximum collection occurred for particle diameters of approximately 3 microm, and decreased again for diameters between 4 and 8 microm. Such trend was successfully represented by the proposed correlation, which is based on the classical mechanisms acting on particle collection. Inertial impaction seems to be the predominant collection mechanism, with particle bouncing/re-entrainment acting as detachment mechanisms.

  1. Efficient Incremental Garbage Collection for Workstation/Server Database Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Amsaleg , Laurent; Gruber , Olivier; Franklin , Michael

    1994-01-01

    Projet RODIN; We describe an efficient server-based algorithm for garbage collecting object-oriented databases in a workstation/server environment. The algorithm is incremental and runs concurrently with client transactions, however, it does not hold any locks on data and does not require callbacks to clients. It is fault tolerant, but performs very little logging. The algorithm has been designed to be integrated into existing OODB systems, and therefore it works with standard implementation ...

  2. General collection efficiency in liquid iso-octane and tetramethylsilane used as sensitive media in a thimble ionization chamber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johansson, B.E.; Bahar-Gogani, J.; Wickman, G.

    1999-01-01

    The general collection efficiency in the dielectric liquids iso-octane (C 8 H 18 ; 2-2-4 trimethylpentane) and tetramethylsilane (Si(CH 3 ) 4 ), used as sensitive media in a thimble liquid ionization chamber (LIC) with a liquid layer thickness of 1 mm, has been studied. Measurements were made for continuous radiation at varying dose rates using 140 keV photons from the decay of 99m Tc for chamber polarizing voltages of 50, 100 and 500 V. The maximum dose rate in each measurement session was about 150 mGy min -1 . The experimental results were compared with theoretical general collection efficiencies calculated by the equation for the general collection efficiency in gases. The results show that the general collection efficiency in a thimble LIC for continuous radiation can be calculated with the equation for the general collection efficiency in gas ionization chambers, using the same chamber geometry correction factors and analogous characteristic ion recombination parameters for the dielectric liquids. (author)

  3. Collective Psychological Ownership and Intergroup Relations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verkuyten, Maykel; Martinovic, Borja

    2017-01-01

    Whereas much social psychological research has studied the in-group and out-group implications of social categorization and collective identity (“we”), little research has examined the nature and relevance of collective psychological ownership (“ours”) for intergroup relations. We make a case for

  4. Microfluidic Air Sampler for Highly Efficient Bacterial Aerosol Collection and Identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bian, Xiaojun; Lan, Ying; Wang, Bing; Zhang, Yu Shrike; Liu, Baohong; Yang, Pengyuan; Zhang, Weijia; Qiao, Liang

    2016-12-06

    The early warning capability of the presence of biological aerosol threats is an urgent demand in ensuing civilian and military safety. Efficient and rapid air sample collection in relevant indoor or outdoor environment is a key step for subsequent analysis of airborne microorganisms. Herein, we report a portable battery-powered sampler that is capable of highly efficient bioaerosol collection. The essential module of the sampler is a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chip, which consisted of a 3-loop double-spiral microchannel featuring embedded herringbone and sawtooth wave-shaped structures. Vibrio parahemolyticus (V. parahemolyticus) as a model microorganism, was initially employed to validate the bioaerosol collection performance of the device. Results showed that the sampling efficacy reached as high as >99.9%. The microfluidic sampler showed greatly improved capturing efficiency compared with traditional plate sedimentation methods. The high performance of our device was attributed to the horizontal inertial centrifugal force and the vertical turbulence applied to airflow during sampling. The centrifugation field and turbulence were generated by the specially designed herringbone structures when air circulated in the double-spiral microchannel. The sawtooth wave-shaped microstructure created larger specific surface area for accommodating more aerosols. Furthermore, a mixture of bacterial aerosols formed by V. parahemolyticus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli was extracted by the microfluidic sampler. Subsequent integration with mass spectrometry conveniently identified the multiple bacterial species captured by the sampler. Our developed stand-alone and cable-free sampler shows clear advantages comparing with conventional strategies, including portability, easy-to-use, and low cost, indicating great potential in future field applications.

  5. Reuter Centrifugal Air Sampler: Measurement of Effective Airflow Rate and Collection Efficiency

    OpenAIRE

    Macher, J. M.; First, M. W.

    1983-01-01

    Incorrect calculation of effective air sampling rate and disregard of differences in collection efficiency among samplers can lead to false conclusions about the usefulness of samplers for measuring concentrations of airborne microorganisms.

  6. Improving the Efficiency of Photon Collection by Compton Rescue

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-01

    burnished by vibratory shot peening,” Acta Physica Polonica , vol. A 110, pp. 739–46, 2006. [4] M. Cunningham et al., “First-generation hybrid compact...Department of Defense, or the United States Government. This material is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright...R. Kowash (Member) Date AFIT/GAP/ENP/11-M10 Abstract A method to improve the efficiency of photon collection in thin planar HPGe de- tectors was

  7. Design of artificial neural networks using a genetic algorithm to predict collection efficiency in venturi scrubbers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taheri, Mahboobeh; Mohebbi, Ali

    2008-08-30

    In this study, a new approach for the auto-design of neural networks, based on a genetic algorithm (GA), has been used to predict collection efficiency in venturi scrubbers. The experimental input data, including particle diameter, throat gas velocity, liquid to gas flow rate ratio, throat hydraulic diameter, pressure drop across the venturi scrubber and collection efficiency as an output, have been used to create a GA-artificial neural network (ANN) model. The testing results from the model are in good agreement with the experimental data. Comparison of the results of the GA optimized ANN model with the results from the trial-and-error calibrated ANN model indicates that the GA-ANN model is more efficient. Finally, the effects of operating parameters such as liquid to gas flow rate ratio, throat gas velocity, and particle diameter on collection efficiency were determined.

  8. Efficient Data Collection by Mobile Sink to Detect Phenomena in Internet of Things

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amany Abu Safia

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available With the rapid development of Internet of Things (IoT, more and more static and mobile sensors are being deployed for sensing and tracking environmental phenomena, such as fire, oil spills and air pollution. As these sensors are usually battery-powered, energy-efficient algorithms are required to extend the sensors’ lifetime. Moreover, forwarding sensed data towards a static sink causes quick battery depletion of the sinks’ nearby sensors. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a distributed energy-efficient algorithm, called the Hilbert-order Collection Strategy (HCS, which uses a mobile sink (e.g., drone to collect data from a mobile wireless sensor network (mWSN and detect environmental phenomena. The mWSN consists of mobile sensors that sense environmental data. These mobile sensors self-organize themselves into groups. The sensors of each group elect a group head (GH, which collects data from the mobile sensors in its group. Periodically, a mobile sink passes by the locations of the GHs (data collection path to collect their data. The collected data are aggregated to discover a global phenomenon. To shorten the data collection path, which results in reducing the energy cost, the mobile sink establishes the path based on the order of Hilbert values of the GHs’ locations. Furthermore, the paper proposes two optimization techniques for data collection to further reduce the energy cost of mWSN and reduce the data loss.

  9. Relative fault and efficient negligence: Comparative negligence explained

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dari-Mattiacci, G.; Hendriks, E.S.

    2013-01-01

    This paper shows that the rule of comparative negligence with relative fault - a sharing of the loss proportional to the parties’ relative departures from due care - induces the parties to an accident to be efficiently negligent. Comparative negligence is more efficient than simple or contributory

  10. Electrode geometry effects on the collection efficiency of submicron and ultra-fine dust particles in spike-plate electrostatic precipitators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brocilo, D; Podlinski, J; Chang, J S; Mizeraczyk, J; Findlay, R D

    2008-01-01

    The collection efficiency of electrostatic precipitators for the submicron particles ranging from 0.1 to 1 μm and ultrafine particles smaller than 0. lμm is below the requirements of new PM2.5 emission regulations. In this work, numerical and experimental studies were conducted to examine the effect of discharge and collecting electrode geometries on the ion density and electric field profiles and consequently their effect on the particle surface charge and collection efficiency. The collection efficiency prediction was based on a modified Deutsche's equation after calculation of three dimensional electric field and ion density profiles. Whereas, the particle surface charge was obtained from diffusion and field charging models. Results show that the collection efficiency of fine particles for the spike-type discharge electrode when compared to the conventional wire-type was improved. Experimental validations were conducted on a bench scale electrostatic precipitator for total and partial collection efficiency of particles ranging in size from 0.01 to 20 μm and the results indicated that the model can be effectively applied for prototype design, modification, and scale-up of collecting and discharge electrodes.

  11. Backtracking search algorithm in CVRP models for efficient solid waste collection and route optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akhtar, Mahmuda; Hannan, M A; Begum, R A; Basri, Hassan; Scavino, Edgar

    2017-03-01

    Waste collection is an important part of waste management that involves different issues, including environmental, economic, and social, among others. Waste collection optimization can reduce the waste collection budget and environmental emissions by reducing the collection route distance. This paper presents a modified Backtracking Search Algorithm (BSA) in capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) models with the smart bin concept to find the best optimized waste collection route solutions. The objective function minimizes the sum of the waste collection route distances. The study introduces the concept of the threshold waste level (TWL) of waste bins to reduce the number of bins to be emptied by finding an optimal range, thus minimizing the distance. A scheduling model is also introduced to compare the feasibility of the proposed model with that of the conventional collection system in terms of travel distance, collected waste, fuel consumption, fuel cost, efficiency and CO 2 emission. The optimal TWL was found to be between 70% and 75% of the fill level of waste collection nodes and had the maximum tightness value for different problem cases. The obtained results for four days show a 36.80% distance reduction for 91.40% of the total waste collection, which eventually increases the average waste collection efficiency by 36.78% and reduces the fuel consumption, fuel cost and CO 2 emission by 50%, 47.77% and 44.68%, respectively. Thus, the proposed optimization model can be considered a viable tool for optimizing waste collection routes to reduce economic costs and environmental impacts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Fission product removal by containment spray - influence of the distance between the drops on the aerosol collection efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gauchet, N.

    2000-01-01

    This work is within the framework of the studies that are conducted at the IPSN concerning the loss of coolant in a nuclear reactor. During this kind of accident, a spray system in the reactor containment induces the scrubbing of fission products in the atmosphere, and allows the decrease of their concentration in the containment. Our objective is to study the influence of the distance between the drops of their aerosol collection efficiency. This is not taken into account in the existing models. We stimulate the various aerosol collection mechanisms with one free falling drop using computational fluid dynamics codes. The mechanisms are: deposition by brownian diffusion, impaction and interception of the particles by the drop, and collection of particles in the presence of steam condensation at the surface of the drop. These phenomena are studied for drops ranging in diameter from 100 to 700 micrometers, falling in a saturated air-steam mixture whose temperature varies between 20 and 140 degrees Celsius, and total pressure varies between 1 and 5 bars. We validate these models with results available in the literature and with experimental results CARAIDAS. Then we apply these models to the case of three aligned drops, which constitutes a case for which the proximity of the drops has a strong influence on the collection of aerosols. While varying the distance between the drop from 5 to 25 drop diameters, we can highlight the modification of the collection efficiency of each mechanism related to the disturbance of the velocity and concentration fields in the vicinity of the drops. We note that the strongest variations of efficiency observed are in the field of impaction, and that the steam condensation at the surface of the drops limits the decrease. (authors)

  13. Genotypic variation in transpiration efficiency due to differences in photosynthetic capacity among sugarcane-related clones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chunjia; Jackson, Phillip; Lu, Xin; Xu, Chaohua; Cai, Qing; Basnayake, Jayapathi; Lakshmanan, Prakash; Ghannoum, Oula; Fan, Yuanhong

    2017-04-01

    Sugarcane, derived from the hybridization of Saccharum officinarum×Saccharum spontaneum, is a vegetative crop in which the final yield is highly driven by culm biomass production. Cane yield under irrigated or rain-fed conditions could be improved by developing genotypes with leaves that have high intrinsic transpiration efficiency, TEi (CO2 assimilation/stomatal conductance), provided this is not offset by negative impacts from reduced conductance and growth rates. This study was conducted to partition genotypic variation in TEi among a sample of diverse clones from the Chinese collection of sugarcane-related germplasm into that due to variation in stomatal conductance versus that due to variation in photosynthetic capacity. A secondary goal was to define protocols for optimized larger-scale screening of germplasm collections. Genotypic variation in TEi was attributed to significant variation in both stomatal and photosynthetic components. A number of genotypes were found to possess high TEi as a result of high photosynthetic capacity. This trait combination is expected to be of significant breeding value. It was determined that a small number of observations (16) is sufficient for efficiently screening TEi in larger populations of sugarcane genotypes The research methodology and results reported are encouraging in supporting a larger-scale screening and introgression of high transpiration efficiency in sugarcane breeding. However, further research is required to quantify narrow sense heritability as well as the leaf-to-field translational potential of genotypic variation in transpiration efficiency-related traits observed in this study. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

  14. Charge Collection Efficiency Simulations of Irradiated Silicon Strip Detectors

    CERN Document Server

    Peltola, T.

    2014-01-01

    During the scheduled high luminosity upgrade of LHC, the world's largest particle physics accelerator at CERN, the position sensitive silicon detectors installed in the vertex and tracking part of the CMS experiment will face more intense radiation environment than the present system was designed for. Thus, to upgrade the tracker to required performance level, comprehensive measurements and simulations studies have already been carried out. Essential information of the performance of an irradiated silicon detector is obtained by monitoring its charge collection efficiency (CCE). From the evolution of CCE with fluence, it is possible to directly observe the effect of the radiation induced defects to the ability of the detector to collect charge carriers generated by traversing minimum ionizing particles (mip). In this paper the numerically simulated CCE and CCE loss between the strips of irradiated silicon strip detectors are presented. The simulations based on Synopsys Sentaurus TCAD framework were performed ...

  15. Rapid and Efficient Collection of Platinum from Karstedt's Catalyst Solution via Ligands-Exchange-Induced Assembly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Gonghua; Wei, Yanlong; Huang, Zhenzhu; Hu, Jiwen; Liu, Guojun; Ou, Ming; Lin, Shudong; Tu, Yuanyuan

    2018-02-21

    Reported herein is a novel strategy for the rapid and efficient collection of platinum from Karstedt's catalyst solution. By taking advantage of a ligand-exchange reaction between alkynols and the 1,3-divinyltetramethyldisiloxane ligand (M Vi M Vi ) that coordinated with platinum (Pt(0)), the Karstedt's catalyst particles with a size of approximately 2.5 ± 0.7 nm could be reconstructed and assembled into larger particles with a size of 150 ± 35 nm due to the hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl groups of the alkynol. In addition, because the silicone-soluble M Vi M Vi ligand of the Karstedt's catalyst was replaced by water-soluble alkynol ligands, the resultant large particles were readily dispersed in water, resulting in rapid, efficient, and complete collection of platinum from the Karstedt's catalyst solutions with platinum concentrations in the range from ∼20 000 to 0.05 ppm. Our current strategy not only was used for the rapid and efficient collection of platinum from the Karstedt's catalyst solutions, but it also enabled the precise evaluation of the platinum content in the Karstedt's catalysts, even if this platinum content was extremely low (i.e., 0.05 ppm). Moreover, these platinum specimens that were efficiently collected from the Karstedt's catalyst solutions could be directly used for the evaluation of platinum without the need for pretreatment processes, such as calcination and digestion with hydrofluoric acid, that were traditionally used prior to testing via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in conventional methods.

  16. Bioinspired conical copper wire with gradient wettability for continuous and efficient fog collection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ju, Jie; Xiao, Kai; Yao, Xi; Bai, Hao; Jiang, Lei

    2013-11-06

    Inspired by the efficient fog collection on cactus spines, conical copper wires with gradient wettability are fabricated through gradient electrochemical corrosion and subsequent gradient chemical modification. These dual-gradient copper wires' fog-collection ability is demonstrated to be higher than that of conical copper wires with pure hydrophobic surfaces or pure hydrophilic surfaces, and the underlying mechanism is also analyzed. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Collective Decision Mechanisms and Efficient Stock Market Allocations: Existence of a Participation Equilibrium.

    OpenAIRE

    Forsythe, Robert; Suchanek, Gerry L

    1984-01-01

    The recent literature on economies with an incomplete set of markets has been devoted to the study of the efficiency properties of collective stockholder decision mechanisms for guiding the behavior of firms when the restrictive Ekern-Wilson spanning condition is not satisfied. The results have been essentially negative; a majority voting rule and controlling interest rules will not yield efficient equilibrium allocations in general. However, in a recent paper, Helpman and Razin (1978) sugges...

  18. Efficient quantum entanglement distribution over an arbitrary collective-noise channel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheng, Yu-Bo; Deng, Fu-Guo

    2010-04-01

    We present an efficient quantum entanglement distribution over an arbitrary collective-noise channel. The basic idea in the present scheme is that two parties in quantum communication first transmit the entangled states in the frequency degree of freedom which suffers little from the noise in an optical fiber. After the two parties share the photon pairs, they add some operations and equipments to transfer the frequency entanglement of pairs into the polarization entanglement with the success probability of 100%. Finally, they can get maximally entangled polarization states with polarization independent wavelength division multiplexers and quantum frequency up-conversion which can erase distinguishability for frequency. Compared with conventional entanglement purification protocols, the present scheme works in a deterministic way in principle. Surprisingly, the collective noise leads to an additional advantage.

  19. Broadband Light Collection Efficiency Enhancement of Carbon Nanotube Excitons Coupled to Metallo-Dielectric Antenna Arrays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shayan, Kamran [Department; Rabut, Claire [Department; Kong, Xiaoqing [Department; Li, Xiangzhi [Department; Luo, Yue [Department; Mistry, Kevin S. [National Renewable; Blackburn, Jeffrey L. [National Renewable; Lee, Stephanie S. [Department; Strauf, Stefan [Department

    2017-11-09

    The realization of on-chip quantum networks ideally requires lossless interfaces between photons and solid-state quantum emitters. We propose and demonstrate on-chip arrays of metallo-dielectric antennas (MDA) that are tailored toward efficient and broadband light collection from individual embedded carbon nanotube quantum emitters by trapping air gaps on chip that form cavity modes. Scalable implementation is realized by employing polymer layer dry-transfer techniques that avoid solvent incompatibility issues, as well as a planar design that avoids solid-immersion lenses. Cryogenic measurements demonstrate 7-fold enhanced exciton intensity when compared to emitters located on bare wafers, corresponding to a light collection efficiency (LCE) up to 92% in the best case (average LCE of 69%) into a narrow output cone of +/-15 degrees that enables a priori fiber-to-chip butt coupling. The demonstrated MDA arrays are directly compatible with other quantum systems, particularly 2D materials, toward enabling efficient on-chip quantum light sources or spin-photon interfaces requiring unity light collection, both at cryogenic or room temperature.

  20. 78 FR 72151 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request on Information Collection Tools Relating to Qualitative...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-02

    ... Information Collection Tools Relating to Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery. AGENCY: Internal...(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning the collection of qualitative...: Title: Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery OMB Number: 1545-NEW. Form Number...

  1. Challenges in resonant cavity biosensor design: collection efficiency and specificity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armani, Andrea M.; Mehrabani, Simin; Sun, Victoria; McBirney, Samantha; Hawk, Rasheeda M.; Gungor, Eda; Lee, Michele

    2014-03-01

    Optical cavities have successfully demonstrated the ability to detect a wide range of analytes with exquisite sensitivity. However, optimizing other parameters of the system, such as collection efficiency and specificity, have remained elusive. This presentation will discuss some of the recent work in this area, including 3D COMSOL Multiphysics models including mass transfer and binding kinetics of different cavity geometries and covalent attachment methods for a wide range of biological and synthetic moieties. A few representative experimental demonstrations will also be presented.

  2. Measuring the relative efficiency of Ilam hospitals using data envelopment analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ehsan Fazeli

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Measuring the relative efficiency is one of the most important issues among hospitals in today's economy. These days, we hear that cost reduction is a necessity for survival of business owners and one primary to reduce the expenditures is to increase relative efficiency. The proposed study of this paper first uses output oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA to measure the relative efficiencies of nine hospitals. The proposed model uses four types of employee namely specialists, physicians, technicians and other staffs as input parameters. The model also uses the number of surgeries, hospitalized and radiography as the outputs of the proposed model. Since the implementation of DEA leads us to have more than one single efficient unit, we implement supper efficiency technique to measure the relative efficiency of efficient units.

  3. Exploiting Genomic Resources for Efficient Conservation and Use of Chickpea, Groundnut, and Pigeonpea Collections for Crop Improvement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. L. Laxmipathi Gowda

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Both chickpea ( L. and pigeonpea [ (L. Millsp.] are important dietary source of protein while groundnut ( L. is one of the major oil crops. Globally, approximately 1.1 million grain legume accessions are conserved in genebanks, of which the ICRISAT genebank holds 49,485 accessions of cultivated species and wild relatives of chickpea, pigeonpea, and groundnut from 133 countries. These genetic resources are reservoirs of many useful genes for present and future crop improvement programs. Representative subsets in the form of core and mini core collections have been used to identify trait-specific genetically diverse germplasm for use in breeding and genomic studies in these crops. Chickpea, groundnut, and pigeonpea have moved from “orphan” to “genomic resources rich crops.” The chickpea and pigeonpea genomes have been decoded, and the sequences of groundnut genome will soon be available. With the availability of these genomic resources, the germplasm curators, breeders, and molecular biologists will have abundant opportunities to enhance the efficiency of genebank operations, mine allelic variations in germplasm collection, identify genetically diverse germplasm with beneficial traits, broaden the cultigen’s genepool, and accelerate the cultivar development to address new challenges to production, particularly with respect to climate change and variability. Marker-assisted breeding approaches have already been initiated for some traits in chickpea and groundnut, which should lead to enhanced efficiency and efficacy of crop improvement. Resistance to some pests and diseases has been successfully transferred from wild relatives to cultivated species.

  4. Hybrid engineered materials with high water-collecting efficiency inspired by Namib Desert beetles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Hai; Guo, Zhiguang

    2016-05-21

    Inspired by Namib Desert beetles, a hybrid superhydrophobic surface was fabricated, showing highly efficient fog harvesting with a water collection rate (WCR) of 1309.9 mg h(-1) cm(-2). And, the surface possessed an excellent robustness and self-cleaning property.

  5. 76 FR 6488 - Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB Conversion of Efficiency Units to...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-04

    ... Proposed Information Collection to OMB Conversion of Efficiency Units to One-Bedroom Units Multifamily... lists the following information: Title of Proposal: Conversion of Efficiency Units to One-Bedroom Units... efficiency units into one bedroom units in certain types of HUD assisted and/or insured housing. The...

  6. Focus maps: a means of prioritizing data collection for efficient geo-risk assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massimiliano Pittore

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available  Efficient Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR management constantly calls upon high-quality information to be collected or updated for vulnerability monitoring and risk assessment. This process is often resource- and time-intensive, which many economically developing states (including most Central Asian countries can seldom afford. In this paper, we introduce the concept of focus maps as a useful tool to quantify the spatial probability of sampling. Focus maps allow for a data collection prioritization scheme to be put in place, enabling the realization of optimized spatial sampling which assigns a higher priority to locations where the need for high-quality information is greater. In practice, smaller samples can be drawn with the same (or better resulting accuracy of the estimates, resulting in a more efficient use of time and resources. The factors that affect such a spatial sampling scheme include the usual components of risk assessment (hazard, exposure, vulnerability where available, as well as other potentially critical factors, such as the extent and quality of previously collected data. The practical application of the proposed approach to the case of Central Asia will be exemplified and discussed.

  7. Hybrid plasmonic bullseye antennas for efficient photon collection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Sebastian Kim Hjælm; Bozhevolnyi, Sergey I.; Shalaev, Vladimir M.

    2018-01-01

    We propose highly efficient hybrid plasmonic bullseye antennas for collecting photon emission from nm sized quantum emitters. In our approach, the emitter radiation is coupled to surface plasmon polaritons that are consequently converted into highly directional out-of-plane emission. The proposed...... configuration consists of a high-index titania bullseye grating separated from a planar silver film by a thin low-index silica spacer layer. Such hybrid systems are theoretically capable of directing 85% of the dipole emission into a 0.9 NA objective, while featuring a spectrally narrow-band tunable decay rate...... stable operation. For experimental characterization of the antenna properties, a fluorescent nanodiamond containing multiple nitrogen vacancy centers (NV-center) was deterministically placed in the bullseye center, using an atomic force microscope. Probing the NV-center fluorescence we demonstrate...

  8. Efficient collective influence maximization in cascading processes with first-order transitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pei, Sen; Teng, Xian; Shaman, Jeffrey; Morone, Flaviano; Makse, Hernán A.

    2017-01-01

    In many social and biological networks, the collective dynamics of the entire system can be shaped by a small set of influential units through a global cascading process, manifested by an abrupt first-order transition in dynamical behaviors. Despite its importance in applications, efficient identification of multiple influential spreaders in cascading processes still remains a challenging task for large-scale networks. Here we address this issue by exploring the collective influence in general threshold models of cascading process. Our analysis reveals that the importance of spreaders is fixed by the subcritical paths along which cascades propagate: the number of subcritical paths attached to each spreader determines its contribution to global cascades. The concept of subcritical path allows us to introduce a scalable algorithm for massively large-scale networks. Results in both synthetic random graphs and real networks show that the proposed method can achieve larger collective influence given the same number of seeds compared with other scalable heuristic approaches. PMID:28349988

  9. Comparison of particle-wall interaction boundary conditions in the prediction of cyclone collection efficiency in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valverde Ramirez, M.; Coury, J.R.; Goncalves, J.A.S.

    2009-01-01

    In recent years, many computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies have appeared attempting to predict cyclone pressure drop and collection efficiency. While these studies have been able to predict pressure drop well, they have been only moderately successful in predicting collection efficiency. Part of the reason for this failure has been attributed to the relatively simple wall boundary conditions implemented in the commercially available CFD software, which are not capable of accurately describing the complex particle-wall interaction present in a cyclone. According, researches have proposed a number of different boundary conditions in order to improve the model performance. This work implemented the critical velocity boundary condition through a user defined function (UDF) in the Fluent software and compared its predictions both with experimental data and with the predictions obtained when using Fluent's built-in boundary conditions. Experimental data was obtained from eight laboratory scale cyclones with varying geometric ratios. The CFD simulations were made using the software Fluent 6.3.26. (author)

  10. Task complexity as a driver for collaborative learning efficiency: The collective working-memory effect

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kirschner, Femke; Paas, Fred; Kirschner, Paul A.

    2010-01-01

    Kirschner, F., Paas, F., & Kirschner, P. A. (2011). Task complexity as a driver for collaborative learning efficiency: The collective working-memory effect. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25, 615–624. doi: 10.1002/acp.1730.

  11. Evidence on the relation between public capital and Government efficiency

    OpenAIRE

    Francisca Guedes de Oliveira

    2010-01-01

    This paper intends to contribute to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the relation between public capital stock and government efficiency. We present some objective indicators fo government efficiency and explore the mentioned relation. we find a positive and significant relation between both variables that survives the introduction of controls and robustness checking.

  12. Calculation of the relative efficiency of thermoluminescent detectors to space radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bilski, P.

    2011-01-01

    Thermoluminescent (TL) detectors are often used for measurements of radiation doses in space. While space radiation is composed of a mixture of heavy charged particles, the relative TL efficiency depends on ionization density. The question therefore arises: what is the relative efficiency of TLDs to the radiation present in space? In the attempt to answer this question, the relative TL efficiency of two types of lithium fluoride detectors for space radiation has been calculated, based on the theoretical space spectra and the experimental values of TL efficiency to ion beams. The TL efficiency of LiF:Mg,Ti detectors for radiation encountered at typical low-Earth’s orbit was found to be close to unity, justifying a common application of these TLDs to space dosimetry. The TL efficiency of LiF:Mg,Cu,P detectors is significantly lower. It was found that a shielding may have a significant influence on the relative response of TLDs, due to changes caused in the radiation spectrum. In case of application of TLDs outside the Earth’s magnetosphere, one should expect lower relative efficiency than at the low-Earth’s orbit.

  13. 76 FR 43331 - Labor-Management Relations Information Collection Requests

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-20

    ... FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE Labor-Management Relations Information Collection... the following public information collection requests (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB... information collection requests are FMCS forms: Arbitrator's Report and Fee Statement (Agency Form R-19...

  14. An empirical method to measure the relative efficiency of dairy producers using deterministic frontier analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahram RostamPour

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to measure the relative efficiencies of various cow husbandries. The proposed model of this paper uses distribution free analysis to measure the performance of different units responsible for taking care of cows. We gather the necessary information of all units including number of cows, amount of internet usage, number of subunits for taking care of cows, amount of forage produced in each province for grazing livestock and average hour per person training courses as independent variables and consider the amount of produced milk as dependent variable. The necessary information are collected from all available units located in different provinces of Iran and the production function is estimated using a linear programming model. The results indicate that the capital city of Iran, Tehran, holds the highest technical efficiency, the lowest efficiency belongs to province of Ilam and other provinces mostly performs poorly.

  15. 77 FR 56842 - Labor-Management Relations Information Collection Requests

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-14

    ... FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE Labor-Management Relations Information Collection... the following public information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB... information collection request is the Notice to Mediation Agencies (Agency Form F-7), OMB control number 3076...

  16. Development and application of VISAR probe with higher signal-collecting efficiency and adjusted depth of field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Jianheng; Sun Chengwei; Ma Ruchao

    2001-01-01

    The new design of optical fiber VISAR probes has been described. It consists of optical fibers and two lenses, and has simpler structure and lower cost than others. If the size of the image near the end face of collecting fiber is larger than the diameter of the core fiber, the distance between the probe and the target can be decreased. Requirement for the precision in the design is lower in this way, and is easier to build up. At the same time, the signal-collecting efficiency is improved in some degree. During the process of designing the probe, the technique for manufacturing the lens of plexiglass is developed. The lens of plexiglass is used to replace the lens of glass, which can reduce the cost of the probe. The factors affecting the collecting efficiency are analyzed

  17. Collection of human reaction times and supporting health related data for analysis of cognitive and physical performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petr Brůha

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Smoking, excessive drinking, overeating and physical inactivity are well-established risk factors decreasing human physical performance. Moreover, epidemiological work has identified modifiable lifestyle factors, such as poor diet and physical and cognitive inactivity that are associated with the risk of reduced cognitive performance. Definition, collection and annotation of human reaction times and suitable health related data and metadata provides researchers with a necessary source for further analysis of human physical and cognitive performance. The collection of human reaction times and supporting health related data was obtained from two groups comprising together 349 people of all ages - the visitors of the Days of Science and Technology 2016 held on the Pilsen central square and members of the Mensa Czech Republic visiting the neuroinformatics lab at the University of West Bohemia. Each provided dataset contains a complete or partial set of data obtained from the following measurements: hands and legs reaction times, color vision, spirometry, electrocardiography, blood pressure, blood glucose, body proportions and flexibility. It also provides a sufficient set of metadata (age, gender and summary of the participant's current life style and health to allow researchers to perform further analysis. This article has two main aims. The first aim is to provide a well annotated collection of human reaction times and health related data that is suitable for further analysis of lifestyle and human cognitive and physical performance. This data collection is complemented with a preliminarily statistical evaluation. The second aim is to present a procedure of efficient acquisition of human reaction times and supporting health related data in non-lab and lab conditions. Keywords: Reaction time, Health related data, Cognitive and physical performance, Chronic disease, Data acquisition, Data collection, Software for data collection

  18. Technology for collecting and analyzing relational data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. N. Fedorova

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose of the study. The scientific and educational organizations use traditionally e-mail with Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and Microsoft Word documents for operational data collection. The disadvantages of this approach include the lack of control of the correctness of the data input, the complexity of processing the information received due to non-relational data model, etc. There are online services that enable to organize the collection of data in a relational form. The disadvantages of these systems are: the absence of thesaurus support; a limited set of elements of data input control; the limited control the operation of the input form; most of the systems is shareware, etc. Thus, it is required the development of Internet data collection and analysis technology, which should allow to identify quickly model the data collected and automatically implement data collection in accordance with this model.Materials and methods. The article describes the technology developed and tested for operational data collection and analysis using "Faramant" system. System operation "Faramant" is based on a model document, which includes three components: description of the data structure; visualization; logic of form work. All stages of the technology are performed by the user using the browser. The main stage of the proposed technology is the definition of the data model as a set of relational tables. To create a table within the system it’s required to determine the name and a list of fields. For each field, you must specify its name and use the control to the data input and logic of his work. Controls are used to organize the correct input data depending on the data type. Based on a model system "Faramant" automatically creates a filling form, using which users can enter information. To change the form visualization, you can use the form template. The data can be viewed page by page in a table. For table rows, you can apply different filters. To

  19. Investigation of charge-collection efficiency of Kyoto's X-ray astronomical SOI pixel sensors, XRPIX

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matsumura, Hideaki, E-mail: matumura@cr.scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Tsuru, Takeshi Go; Tanaka, Takaaki; Nakashima, Shinya; Ryu, Syukyo G. [Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Takeda, Ayaki [Department of Particle and Nuclear Physics, Graduate School of High Energy Accelerator Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801 (Japan); Arai, Yasuo; Miyoshi, Toshinobu [Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba 305-0801 (Japan)

    2014-11-21

    We are developing a monolithic active pixel sensor referred to as XRPIX for X-ray astronomy on the basis of silicon-on-insulator CMOS technology. A crucial issue in our recent development is the impact of incomplete charge collection on the spectroscopic performance. In this paper, we report the spectral responses of several devices having different intra-pixel structures or produced from different wafers. We found that an emission line spectrum exhibits large low-energy tails when the size of the buried p-well, which acts as the charge-collection node, is small. Moreover, in charge sharing events, the peak channels of the emission lines shift toward channels lower than those without charge sharing. This peak shift is more pronounced as the distance between the pixel center and the position of incident photon increases. This suggests that the charge-collection efficiency is degraded at the pixel boundary. We also found that the charge-collection efficiency depends on the strength of the electric field at the interface of the depletion and insulator layers.

  20. High collection efficiency CVD diamond alpha detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bergonzo, P.; Foulon, F.; Marshall, R.D.; Jany, C.; Brambilla, A.; McKeag, R.D.; Jackman, R.B.

    1998-01-01

    Advances in Chemical Vapor Deposited (CVD) diamond have enabled the routine use of this material for sensor device fabrication, allowing exploitation of its unique combination of physical properties (low temperature susceptibility (> 500 C), high resistance to radiation damage (> 100 Mrad) and to corrosive media). A consequence of CVD diamond growth on silicon is the formation of polycrystalline films which has a profound influence on the physical and electronic properties with respect to those measured on monocrystalline diamond. The authors report the optimization of physical and geometrical device parameters for radiation detection in the counting mode. Sandwich and co-planar electrode geometries are tested and their performances evaluated with regard to the nature of the field profile and drift distances inherent in such devices. The carrier drift length before trapping was measured under alpha particles and values as high as 40% of the overall film thickness are reported. Further, by optimizing the device geometry, they show that a gain in collection efficiency, defined as the induced charge divided by the deposited charge within the material, can be achieved even though lower bias values are used

  1. A simple way to achieve bioinspired hybrid wettability surface with micro/nanopatterns for efficient fog collection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Kai; Du, Haifeng; Dong, Xinran; Wang, Cong; Duan, Ji-An; He, Jun

    2017-10-05

    Fog collection is receiving increasing attention for providing water in semi-arid deserts and inland areas. Inspired by the fog harvesting ability of the hydrophobic-hydrophilic surface of Namib desert beetles, we present a simple, low-cost method to prepare a hybrid superhydrophobic-hydrophilic surface. The surface contains micro/nanopatterns, and is prepared by incorporating femtosecond-laser fabricated polytetrafluoroethylene nanoparticles deposited on superhydrophobic copper mesh with a pristine hydrophilic copper sheet. The as-prepared surface exhibits enhanced fog collection efficiency compared with uniform (super)hydrophobic or (super)hydrophilic surfaces. This enhancement can be tuned by controlling the mesh number, inclination angle, and fabrication structure. Moreover, the surface shows excellent anti-corrosion ability after immersing in 1 M HCl, 1 M NaOH, and 10 wt% NaCl solutions for 2 hours. This work may provide insight into fabricating hybrid superhydrophobic-hydrophilic surfaces for efficient atmospheric water collection.

  2. Development and testing of a two stage granular filter to improve collection efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rangan, R.S.; Prakash, S.G.; Chakravarti, S.; Rao, S.R.

    1999-07-01

    A circulating bed granular filter (CBGF) with a single filtration stage was tested with a PFB combustor in the Coal Research Facility of BHEL R and D in Hyderabad during the years 1993--95. Filter outlet dust loading varied between 20--50 mg/Nm{sup 3} for an inlet dust loading of 5--8 gms/Nm{sup 3}. The results were reported in Fluidized Bed Combustion-Volume 2, ASME 1995. Though the outlet consists of predominantly fine particulates below 2 microns, it is still beyond present day gas turbine specifications for particulate concentration. In order to enhance the collection efficiency, a two-stage granular filtration concept was evolved, wherein the filter depth is divided between two stages, accommodated in two separate vertically mounted units. The design also incorporates BHEL's scale-up concept of multiple parallel stages. The two-stage concept minimizes reentrainment of captured dust by providing clean granules in the upper stage, from where gases finally exit the filter. The design ensures that dusty gases come in contact with granules having a higher dust concentration at the bottom of the two-stage unit, where most of the cleaning is completed. A second filtration stage of cleaned granules is provided in the top unit (where the granules are returned to the system after dedusting) minimizing reentrainment. Tests were conducted to determine the optimum granule to dust ratio (G/D ratio) which decides the granule circulation rate required for the desired collection efficiency. The data brings out the importance of pre-separation and the limitation on inlet dust loading for any continuous system of granular filtration. Collection efficiencies obtained were much higher (outlet dust being 3--9 mg/Nm{sub 3}) than in the single stage filter tested earlier for similar dust loading at the inlet. The results indicate that two-stage granular filtration has a high potential for HTHT application with fewer risks as compared to other systems under development.

  3. Determination of turbine relative efficiency in SHPP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Džepčeski Dane

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available To assess the fulfillment of contract conditions for the equipment delivery, determining the properties and capabilities of a generating unit or some part of it, the measurements carried out under real operating conditions were necessary. In this paper, the results of the test that was carried out in a small hydropower plant (SHPP, aimed at determining the relative efficiency of the hydraulic turbine and its comparison with the guaranteed values, are presented. The dependence of the turbine efficiency on the turbine discharge was determined based on the test results, using the index method. The test was performed at one net head.

  4. Heterogeneous Compression of Large Collections of Evolutionary Trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthews, Suzanne J

    2015-01-01

    Compressing heterogeneous collections of trees is an open problem in computational phylogenetics. In a heterogeneous tree collection, each tree can contain a unique set of taxa. An ideal compression method would allow for the efficient archival of large tree collections and enable scientists to identify common evolutionary relationships over disparate analyses. In this paper, we extend TreeZip to compress heterogeneous collections of trees. TreeZip is the most efficient algorithm for compressing homogeneous tree collections. To the best of our knowledge, no other domain-based compression algorithm exists for large heterogeneous tree collections or enable their rapid analysis. Our experimental results indicate that TreeZip averages 89.03 percent (72.69 percent) space savings on unweighted (weighted) collections of trees when the level of heterogeneity in a collection is moderate. The organization of the TRZ file allows for efficient computations over heterogeneous data. For example, consensus trees can be computed in mere seconds. Lastly, combining the TreeZip compressed (TRZ) file with general-purpose compression yields average space savings of 97.34 percent (81.43 percent) on unweighted (weighted) collections of trees. Our results lead us to believe that TreeZip will prove invaluable in the efficient archival of tree collections, and enables scientists to develop novel methods for relating heterogeneous collections of trees.

  5. [The role of collective victimhood in intergroup aggression: Japan-China relations].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nawata, Kengo; Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki

    2012-12-01

    This study examines an effect of collective victimhood in intergroup relations. Collective victimhood is the belief that an ingroup has been harmed by an outgroup. Previous studies focusing on collective victimhood have shown that collective victimhood escalates intergroup conflict. We predicted that the effect of collective victimhood on intergroup aggression would involve two different emotional processes: anger and fear. To test this hypothesis, Japanese attitudes toward the Chinese were examined in the context of Japan-China relations. The results of structural equation modeling showed that collective victimhood enhanced both anger and fear. However, intergroup emotions had converse effects on intergroup aggression. While anger promoted intergroup aggression, fear inhibited it. Nationalism promoted collective victimhood. These findings suggest that, in intergroup conflict, collective victimhood affects intergroup aggression through two emotional processes, which have inverse effects on the aggression.

  6. CPAC: Energy-Efficient Data Collection through Adaptive Selection of Compression Algorithms for Sensor Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, HyungJune; Kim, HyunSeok; Chang, Ik Joon

    2014-01-01

    We propose a technique to optimize the energy efficiency of data collection in sensor networks by exploiting a selective data compression. To achieve such an aim, we need to make optimal decisions regarding two aspects: (1) which sensor nodes should execute compression; and (2) which compression algorithm should be used by the selected sensor nodes. We formulate this problem into binary integer programs, which provide an energy-optimal solution under the given latency constraint. Our simulation results show that the optimization algorithm significantly reduces the overall network-wide energy consumption for data collection. In the environment having a stationary sink from stationary sensor nodes, the optimized data collection shows 47% energy savings compared to the state-of-the-art collection protocol (CTP). More importantly, we demonstrate that our optimized data collection provides the best performance in an intermittent network under high interference. In such networks, we found that the selective compression for frequent packet retransmissions saves up to 55% energy compared to the best known protocol. PMID:24721763

  7. 77 FR 38307 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, Extension, Without...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-27

    ... Collection Activities: Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, Extension, Without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection ACTION: 60-Day Notice of Information Collection Under Review: Form I- 730, Refugee/Asylee Relative...: Extension, without change, of a currently approved collection. (2) Title of the Form/Collection: Refugee...

  8. Current collective engagement stakeholder strategies for South African labour relations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Popi C. Madlala

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Orientation: Collective engagement stakeholder strategies are significant for the creation of harmony in the workplace. It is a known fact that the South African (SA labour environment has been dominated by industrial action before and after the 1994 democratic transition. To be precise, the statistics reveals that industrial action has increased and become more destructive post-1994. Purpose: The purpose of this article was to present the current collective engagement stakeholder strategies for South African labour relations. Motivation for the study: The SA mining sector has seen more violent strikes, with a higher number of deaths, injuries, criminal activities, arrests, dismissals and job losses in recent years. This article captures the current mining stakeholder strategies shaping the existing labour relations environment. Research approach, design and method: This is a theoretical article highlighting the recent literature on collective engagement in the mining sector in South Africa. Main findings: This article presents the current labour relations incidents, reflecting the need for more effective collective engagement and stakeholder management strategies. Practical and managerial implications: The current labour relations context has prompted key stakeholders at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC to look specifically at promoting employment, labour market stability, the right to strike, minimising violence through collective bargaining and highlighting the role of the state, reducing vulnerability through social protection and increasing the minimum wage. Contribution or value add: This article adds theoretically to the existing body of knowledge regarding collective engagement and stakeholder strategies in the SA mining sector.

  9. Efficiency and Effectiveness in the Collection and Analysis of S&T Open Source Information

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pericou-Cayere, M.; Lemaire, P.; Pace, J.-M.; Baude, S.; Samson, N.

    2015-01-01

    While looking for information in scientific database, we are overwhelmed by the amount of information that we encounter. In this big data collection, getting information with added-value could be strategic for nuclear verification. In our study, we have worked about ''best practices'' in collecting, processing and analyzing open source scientific and technical information. First, we were insistent on working with information authenticated by referees such as scientific publications (structured information). Analysis of this structured data is made with bibliometric tools. Several steps are carried out: collecting data related to the paradigm, creating a database to store data generated by bibliographic research, analyzing data with selected tools. With analysis of bibliographic data only, we are able to get: · a panoramic view of countries that publish in the paradigm, · co-publication networks, · organizations that contribute to scientific publications, · countries with which a country collaborates, · areas of interest of a country, . . . So we are able to identify a target. On a second phase, we can focus on a target (countries for example). Working with non-structured data (i.e., press release, social networks, full text analysis of publications) is in progress and needs other tools to be added to the process, as we will discuss in this paper. In information analysis, methodology and expert analysis are important. Software analysis is just a tool to achieve our goal. This presentation deals with concrete measures that improve the efficiency and effectiveness in the use of open source S&T information and in the management of that information over time. Examples are shown. (author)

  10. Charge collection efficiency of irradiated silicon detector operated at cryogenic temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borer, K.; Janos, S.; Palmieri, V.G.; Dezillie, B.; Li, Z.; Collins, P.; Niinikoski, T.O.; Lourenco, C.; Sonderegger, P.; Borchi, E.; Bruzzi, M.; Pirollo, S.; Granata, V.; Pagano, S.; Chapuy, S.; Dimcovski, Z.; Grigoriev, E.; Bell, W.; Devine, S.R.H.; O'Shea, V.; Smith, K.; Berglund, P.; Boer, W. de; Hauler, F.; Heising, S.; Jungermann, L.; Casagrande, L.; Cindro, V.; Mikuz, M.; Zavartanik, M.; Via, C. da; Esposito, A.; Konorov, I.; Paul, S.; Schmitt, L.; Buontempo, S.; D'Ambrosio, N.; Pagano, S.; Ruggiero, G.; Eremin, V.; Verbitskaya, E.

    2000-01-01

    The charge collection efficiency (CCE) of heavily irradiated silicon diode detectors was investigated at temperatures between 77 and 200 K. The CCE was found to depend on the radiation dose, bias voltage value and history, temperature, and bias current generated by light. The detector irradiated to the highest fluence 2x10 15 n/cm 2 yields a MIP signal of at least 15000 e - both at 250 V forward bias voltage, and at 250 V reverse bias voltage in the presence of a light-generated current. The 'Lazarus effect' was thus shown to extend to fluences at least ten times higher than was previously studied

  11. Collection efficiency of charges in ionization chambers in presence of constant or variable radiation intensity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Decuyper, J.

    1970-01-01

    The theoretical and experimental study of the collection of carriers built up by ionization in standard chambers, is made by varying the value of different acting parameters. In the presence of constant ionization intensity and under a D.C. and A.C. voltage, the effect of geometry, recombination, diffusion and attachment is analyzed. The compensation of thermal neutron D.C. chambers is equally considered. Under a time dependent ionization intensity and D.C. voltage, is then studied the effect of recombination on current response, and on the collection efficiency of all formed charges. (author) [fr

  12. Calcium carbonate electronic-insulating layers improve the charge collection efficiency of tin oxide photoelectrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaikh, Shoyebmohamad F.; Mane, Rajaram S.; Hwang, Yun Jeong; Joo, Oh-Shim

    2015-01-01

    In dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), a surface passivation layer has been employed on the tin oxide (SnO 2 ) photoanodes to enhance the charge collection efficiency, and thus the power conversion efficiency. Herein, we demonstrate that the electronic-insulating layering of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) can improve the charge collection efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells designed with photoanodes. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of CaCO 3 layering, both layered and pristine SnO 2 photoanodes are characterized with regard to their structures, morphologies, and photo-electrochemical measurements. The SnO 2 -6L CaCO 3 photoanode has demonstrated as high as 3.5% power conversion efficiency; 3.5-fold greater than that of the pristine SnO 2 photoanode. The enhancement in the power conversion efficiency is corroborated with the number of the dye molecules, the passivation of surface states, a negative shift in the conduction band position, and the reduced electron recombination rate of photoelectrons following the coating of the CaCO 3 surface layer

  13. Comparison of PM collection efficiency of Gent and Airmatrics MiniVol portable air sampler

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Begum, Bilkis A.; Biswas, Swapan K.

    2005-01-01

    Gent PM sampler was developed as an integral part of several International Atomic Energy Agency sponsored coordinated research programmes (CRP) for collecting air particulate samples. On the other hand, the MiniVol Portable Air Sampler is a commercial ambient air sampler for particulate matter and non-reactive gases used by different agencies. Air quality management system requires comparable air quality data to be collected by different stake holders for assessment and regulatory purposes. In order to compare the characteristics of Gent sampler with the MiniVol Portable Air Sampler, the reproducibility of the sample mass collection efficiency were examined and the measured mass concentrations were compared. It was found that in case of PM 10 both samplers collect almost same fraction of PM 10 mass when the Gent sampler was operated at 16 litre per minute flow rate. But in case of fine fraction, Portable sampler collects 70% higher PM 2.5 mass concentration compared to the Gent PM 2.2 mass concentrations. This is because, the Gent sampler was typically operated at 16 to 17 lpm resulting in an estimated 50% cut point of 2.2 μm.(author)

  14. Charge collection efficiency in SI GaAs grown from melts with variable composition as a material for solar neutrino detection

    CERN Document Server

    Verbitskaya, E; Ivanov, A; Strokan, N; Vasilev, V; Markov, A; Polyakov, A; Gavrin, V; Kozlova, Y; Veretenkin, E; Bowles, T J

    2000-01-01

    The results on electrical characteristics and charge collection efficiency in the detectors from bulk SI GaAs developed as a material for solar neutrino spectroscopy are presented. SI GaAs crystals were grown by the Czochralski method. The changes in the stoichiometric components are permanently controlled. It is shown that the performance of GaAs p sup + -i-n sup + structures provided the range of operational reverse voltage up to 1 kV. Measurement of deep level spectra and their analysis reveal the dominant deep levels - hole traps E sub v +0.51 and +0.075 eV in GaAs grown from stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric melts, respectively. Investigation of carrier transport properties and bulk homogeneity evinced in charge collection efficiency has shown advantageous results for SI GaAs grown from stoichiometric melt. The reduction of carrier transport parameters and charge collection efficiency in GaAs grown from nonstoichiometric melt is analyzed taking into consideration formation of the hole trap E sub v +0....

  15. Comparing EU hospital efficiency using diagnosis-related groups

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rhodes, G.; Wiley, M.; Tomas, R.; Casas, M.; Leidl, R.

    1997-01-01

    This article considers the feasibility of comparing the differences in efficiency and price in the provision of hospital products defined on the basis of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs). Two measures of resource use are compared, the length of stay and the administrative price, both independently

  16. Relative Efficiencies of ASEAN Container Ports based on Data Envelopment Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikola Kutin

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Ports play a critical role in the economies of many countries in the ASEAN region. Efficient ports facilitate a country's imports and exports, and the “relative efficiency” of a port is evaluated based on its efficiency compared to others in its group. This study analyzes the relative efficiencies of 50 ASEAN container ports and terminals. These ports are categorized according to their container handling system and location (those located in a riverbank connected to the sea are called “inland seaports” and those by the seaside are called “seaports”. The traditional output-oriented data envelopment analysis method is applied, and measures of super-efficiency constant returns to scale are estimated in order to compare the units situated on the efficiency frontier. The findings may support port managers in the ASEAN region to make decisions on whether to increase container traffic. In addition, policymakers may consider the evaluation results in deciding whether to improve the trans-ASEAN transport network and ASEAN trade competitiveness.

  17. Relative efficiency and sample size for cluster randomized trials with variable cluster sizes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    You, Zhiying; Williams, O Dale; Aban, Inmaculada; Kabagambe, Edmond Kato; Tiwari, Hemant K; Cutter, Gary

    2011-02-01

    The statistical power of cluster randomized trials depends on two sample size components, the number of clusters per group and the numbers of individuals within clusters (cluster size). Variable cluster sizes are common and this variation alone may have significant impact on study power. Previous approaches have taken this into account by either adjusting total sample size using a designated design effect or adjusting the number of clusters according to an assessment of the relative efficiency of unequal versus equal cluster sizes. This article defines a relative efficiency of unequal versus equal cluster sizes using noncentrality parameters, investigates properties of this measure, and proposes an approach for adjusting the required sample size accordingly. We focus on comparing two groups with normally distributed outcomes using t-test, and use the noncentrality parameter to define the relative efficiency of unequal versus equal cluster sizes and show that statistical power depends only on this parameter for a given number of clusters. We calculate the sample size required for an unequal cluster sizes trial to have the same power as one with equal cluster sizes. Relative efficiency based on the noncentrality parameter is straightforward to calculate and easy to interpret. It connects the required mean cluster size directly to the required sample size with equal cluster sizes. Consequently, our approach first determines the sample size requirements with equal cluster sizes for a pre-specified study power and then calculates the required mean cluster size while keeping the number of clusters unchanged. Our approach allows adjustment in mean cluster size alone or simultaneous adjustment in mean cluster size and number of clusters, and is a flexible alternative to and a useful complement to existing methods. Comparison indicated that we have defined a relative efficiency that is greater than the relative efficiency in the literature under some conditions. Our measure

  18. Relative efficiency calculation of a HPGe detector using MCNPX code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Medeiros, Marcos P.C.; Rebello, Wilson F.; Lopes, Jose M.; Silva, Ademir X.

    2015-01-01

    High-purity germanium detectors (HPGe) are mandatory tools for spectrometry because of their excellent energy resolution. The efficiency of such detectors, quoted in the list of specifications by the manufacturer, frequently refers to the relative full-energy peak efficiency, related to the absolute full-energy peak efficiency of a 7.6 cm x 7.6 cm (diameter x height) NaI(Tl) crystal, based on the 1.33 MeV peak of a 60 Co source positioned 25 cm from the detector. In this study, we used MCNPX code to simulate a HPGe detector (Canberra GC3020), from Real-Time Neutrongraphy Laboratory of UFRJ, to survey the spectrum of a 60 Co source located 25 cm from the detector in order to calculate and confirm the efficiency declared by the manufacturer. Agreement between experimental and simulated data was achieved. The model under development will be used for calculating and comparison purposes with the detector calibration curve from software Genie2000™, also serving as a reference for future studies. (author)

  19. 25  W/m2 collection efficiency solar-pumped Nd:YAG laser by a heliostat-parabolic mirror system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, D; Almeida, J; Vistas, C R

    2016-09-20

    A large aspheric fused silica lens was used to couple efficiently the concentrated solar radiation from the focal zone of a 1.5-m-diameter primary concentrator into a 4-mm-diameter, 35-mm-long Nd:YAG single-crystal rod within a conical pump cavity. Continuous-wave laser power of 29.3 W was measured, attaining 25.0  W/m2 solar laser collection efficiency, corresponding to a 19% increase over the previous record. Its laser beam figure of merit-the ratio between laser power and the product of Mx2, My2 beam quality factors-of 0.01 W is 1.6 times higher than that of a direct tracking solar laser with 30  W/m2 collection efficiency. A strong dependency of solar laser power on laser resonator cavity length was found.

  20. Fission product removal by containment spray - influence of the distance between the drops on the aerosol collection efficiency; Influence de la densite spatiale des gouttes d'aspersion sur l'efficacite de collecte des produits de fission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gauchet, N

    2000-07-01

    This work is within the framework of the studies that are conducted at the IPSN concerning the loss of coolant in a nuclear reactor. During this kind of accident, a spray system in the reactor containment induces the scrubbing of fission products in the atmosphere, and allows the decrease of their concentration in the containment. Our objective is to study the influence of the distance between the drops of their aerosol collection efficiency. This is not taken into account in the existing models. We stimulate the various aerosol collection mechanisms with one free falling drop using computational fluid dynamics codes. The mechanisms are: deposition by brownian diffusion, impaction and interception of the particles by the drop, and collection of particles in the presence of steam condensation at the surface of the drop. These phenomena are studied for drops ranging in diameter from 100 to 700 micrometers, falling in a saturated air-steam mixture whose temperature varies between 20 and 140 degrees Celsius, and total pressure varies between 1 and 5 bars. We validate these models with results available in the literature and with experimental results CARAIDAS. Then we apply these models to the case of three aligned drops, which constitutes a case for which the proximity of the drops has a strong influence on the collection of aerosols. While varying the distance between the drop from 5 to 25 drop diameters, we can highlight the modification of the collection efficiency of each mechanism related to the disturbance of the velocity and concentration fields in the vicinity of the drops. We note that the strongest variations of efficiency observed are in the field of impaction, and that the steam condensation at the surface of the drops limits the decrease. (authors)

  1. 78 FR 3499 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request on Information Collection Tools Relating to Customer...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-16

    .... In regard to online services, this feedback will provide insights into customer preferences for... Information Collection Tools Relating to Customer Satisfaction Surveys AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS... use a data-driven approach to understanding customer satisfaction at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS...

  2. Institutions, Equilibria and Efficiency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Competition and efficiency is at the core of economic theory. This volume collects papers of leading scholars, which extend the conventional general equilibrium model in important ways. Efficiency and price regulation are studied when markets are incomplete and existence of equilibria in such set......Competition and efficiency is at the core of economic theory. This volume collects papers of leading scholars, which extend the conventional general equilibrium model in important ways. Efficiency and price regulation are studied when markets are incomplete and existence of equilibria...... in such settings is proven under very general preference assumptions. The model is extended to include geographical location choice, a commodity space incorporating manufacturing imprecision and preferences for club-membership, schools and firms. Inefficiencies arising from household externalities or group...... membership are evaluated. Core equivalence is shown for bargaining economies. The theory of risk aversion is extended and the relation between risk taking and wealth is experimentally investigated. Other topics include: determinacy in OLG with cash-in-advance constraints, income distribution and democracy...

  3. Charge collection efficiency in a semiconductor radiation detector with a non-constant electric field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shah, K.S.; Lund, J.C.; Olschner, F.

    1990-01-01

    The development of improved semiconductor radiation detectors would be facilitated by a quantitative model that predicts the performance of these detectors as a function of material characteristics and device operating parameters. An accurate prediction of the pulse height spectrum from a radiation detector can be made if both the noise and the charge collection properties of the detector are understood. The noise characteristics of semiconductor radiation detectors have been extensively studied. The effect of noise can be closely simulated by convoluting the noise-free pulse height spectrum with a Gaussian function. Distortion of semiconductor detector's pulse height spectrum from charge collection effects is more complex than the effects of noise and is more difficult to predict. To compute these distortions it is necessary to know how the charge collection efficiency η varies as a function of position within the detector x. These effects are shown. This problem has been previously solved for planar detectors with a constant electric field, for the case of spherical detectors, and for coaxial detectors. In this paper the authors describe a more general solution to the charge collection problem which includes the case of a non-constant electric field in a planar geometry

  4. Charge collection efficiency in SI GaAs grown from melts with variable composition as a material for solar neutrino detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verbitskaya, E.; Eremin, V.; Ivanov, A.; Strokan, N.; Vasilev, V.; Markov, A.; Polyakov, A.; Gavrin, V.; Kozlova, Yu.; Veretenkin, E.; Bowles, T.J.

    2000-01-01

    The results on electrical characteristics and charge collection efficiency in the detectors from bulk SI GaAs developed as a material for solar neutrino spectroscopy are presented. SI GaAs crystals were grown by the Czochralski method. The changes in the stoichiometric components are permanently controlled. It is shown that the performance of GaAs p + -i-n + structures provided the range of operational reverse voltage up to 1 kV. Measurement of deep level spectra and their analysis reveal the dominant deep levels - hole traps E v +0.51 and +0.075 eV in GaAs grown from stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric melts, respectively. Investigation of carrier transport properties and bulk homogeneity evinced in charge collection efficiency has shown advantageous results for SI GaAs grown from stoichiometric melt. The reduction of carrier transport parameters and charge collection efficiency in GaAs grown from nonstoichiometric melt is analyzed taking into consideration formation of the hole trap E v +0.075 eV, presumably assigned to Ga antisite and its influence on the concentration of the ionized deep donor level EL2 +

  5. Efficient collective swimming by harnessing vortices through deep reinforcement learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Siddhartha; Novati, Guido; Koumoutsakos, Petros

    2018-06-05

    Fish in schooling formations navigate complex flow fields replete with mechanical energy in the vortex wakes of their companions. Their schooling behavior has been associated with evolutionary advantages including energy savings, yet the underlying physical mechanisms remain unknown. We show that fish can improve their sustained propulsive efficiency by placing themselves in appropriate locations in the wake of other swimmers and intercepting judiciously their shed vortices. This swimming strategy leads to collective energy savings and is revealed through a combination of high-fidelity flow simulations with a deep reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm. The RL algorithm relies on a policy defined by deep, recurrent neural nets, with long-short-term memory cells, that are essential for capturing the unsteadiness of the two-way interactions between the fish and the vortical flow field. Surprisingly, we find that swimming in-line with a leader is not associated with energetic benefits for the follower. Instead, "smart swimmer(s)" place themselves at off-center positions, with respect to the axis of the leader(s) and deform their body to synchronize with the momentum of the oncoming vortices, thus enhancing their swimming efficiency at no cost to the leader(s). The results confirm that fish may harvest energy deposited in vortices and support the conjecture that swimming in formation is energetically advantageous. Moreover, this study demonstrates that deep RL can produce navigation algorithms for complex unsteady and vortical flow fields, with promising implications for energy savings in autonomous robotic swarms.

  6. Fog-basking behaviour and water collection efficiency in Namib Desert Darkling beetles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nørgaard, Thomas; Dacke, Marie

    2010-07-16

    In the Namib Desert fog represents an alternative water source. This is utilised by Darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae) that employ different strategies for obtaining the fog water. Some dig trenches in the sand, while others use their own bodies as fog collectors assuming a characteristic fog-basking stance. Two beetle species from the genus Onymacris have been observed to fog-bask on the ridges of the sand dunes. These beetles all have smooth elytra surfaces, while another species with elytra covered in bumps is reported to have specialised adaptations facilitating water capture by fog-basking. To resolve if these other beetles also fog-bask, and if an elytra covered in bumps is a more efficient fog water collector than a smooth one, we examined four Namib Desert beetles; the smooth Onymacris unguicularis and O. laeviceps and the bumpy Stenocara gracilipes and Physasterna cribripes. Here we describe the beetles' fog-basking behaviour, the details of their elytra structures, and determine how efficient their dorsal surface areas are at harvesting water from fog. The beetles differ greatly in size. The largest P. cribripes has a dorsal surface area that is 1.39, 1.56, and 2.52 times larger than O. unguicularis, O. laeviceps, and S. gracilipes, respectively. In accordance with earlier reports, we found that the second largest O. unguicularis is the only one of the four beetles that assumes the head standing fog-basking behaviour, and that fog is necessary to trigger this behaviour. No differences were seen in the absolute amounts of fog water collected on the dorsal surface areas of the different beetles. However, data corrected according to the sizes of the beetles revealed differences. The better fog water harvesters were S. gracilipes and O. unguicularis while the large P. cribripes was the poorest. Examination of the elytra microstructures showed clear structural differences, but the elytra of all beetles were found to be completely hydrophobic. The differences in

  7. Fog-basking behaviour and water collection efficiency in Namib Desert Darkling beetles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dacke Marie

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In the Namib Desert fog represents an alternative water source. This is utilised by Darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae that employ different strategies for obtaining the fog water. Some dig trenches in the sand, while others use their own bodies as fog collectors assuming a characteristic fog-basking stance. Two beetle species from the genus Onymacris have been observed to fog-bask on the ridges of the sand dunes. These beetles all have smooth elytra surfaces, while another species with elytra covered in bumps is reported to have specialised adaptations facilitating water capture by fog-basking. To resolve if these other beetles also fog-bask, and if an elytra covered in bumps is a more efficient fog water collector than a smooth one, we examined four Namib Desert beetles; the smooth Onymacris unguicularis and O. laeviceps and the bumpy Stenocara gracilipes and Physasterna cribripes. Here we describe the beetles' fog-basking behaviour, the details of their elytra structures, and determine how efficient their dorsal surface areas are at harvesting water from fog. Results The beetles differ greatly in size. The largest P. cribripes has a dorsal surface area that is 1.39, 1.56, and 2.52 times larger than O. unguicularis, O. laeviceps, and S. gracilipes, respectively. In accordance with earlier reports, we found that the second largest O. unguicularis is the only one of the four beetles that assumes the head standing fog-basking behaviour, and that fog is necessary to trigger this behaviour. No differences were seen in the absolute amounts of fog water collected on the dorsal surface areas of the different beetles. However, data corrected according to the sizes of the beetles revealed differences. The better fog water harvesters were S. gracilipes and O. unguicularis while the large P. cribripes was the poorest. Examination of the elytra microstructures showed clear structural differences, but the elytra of all beetles were found to

  8. Evaluating the efficiency of municipalities in collecting and processing municipal solid waste: A shared input DEA-model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rogge, Nicky; De Jaeger, Simon

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Complexity in local waste management calls for more in depth efficiency analysis. ► Shared-input Data Envelopment Analysis can provide solution. ► Considerable room for the Flemish municipalities to improve their cost efficiency. - Abstract: This paper proposed an adjusted “shared-input” version of the popular efficiency measurement technique Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) that enables evaluating municipality waste collection and processing performances in settings in which one input (waste costs) is shared among treatment efforts of multiple municipal solid waste fractions. The main advantage of this version of DEA is that it not only provides an estimate of the municipalities overall cost efficiency but also estimates of the municipalities’ cost efficiency in the treatment of the different fractions of municipal solid waste (MSW). To illustrate the practical usefulness of the shared input DEA-model, we apply the model to data on 293 municipalities in Flanders, Belgium, for the year 2008.

  9. Efficiency and abatement costs of energy-related CO2 emissions in China: A slacks-based efficiency measure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Yongrok; Zhang, Ning; Zhou, P.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We employ a slacks-based DEA model to estimate the energy efficiency and shadow prices of CO 2 emissions in China. ► The empirical study shows that China was not performing CO 2 -efficiently. ► The average of estimated shadow prices of CO 2 emissions is about $7.2. -- Abstract: This paper uses nonparametric efficiency analysis technique to estimate the energy efficiency, potential emission reductions and marginal abatement costs of energy-related CO 2 emissions in China. We employ a non-radial slacks-based data envelopment analysis (DEA) model for estimating the potential reductions and efficiency of CO 2 emissions for China. The dual model of the slacks-based DEA model is then used to estimate the marginal abatement costs of CO 2 emissions. An empirical study based on China’s panel data (2001–2010) is carried out and some policy implications are also discussed.

  10. Increasing the efficiency of photon collection in LArTPCs: the ARAPUCA light trap

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cancelo, G.; Cavanna, F.; Escobar, C. O.; Kemp, E.; Machado, A. A.; Para, A.; Segreto, E.; Totani, D.; Warner, D.

    2018-03-01

    The Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs) are a choice for the next generation of large neutrino detectors due to their optimal performance in particle tracking and calorimetry. The detection of Argon scintillation light plays a crucial role in the event reconstruction as well as the time reference for non-beam physics such as supernovae neutrino detection and baryon number violation studies. In this contribution, we present the current R&D work on the ARAPUCA (Argon R&D Advanced Program at UNICAMP), a light trap device to enhance Ar scintillation light collection and thus the overall performance of LArTPCs. The ARAPUCA working principle is based on a suitable combination of dichroic filters and wavelength shifters to achieve a high efficiency in light collection. We discuss the operational principles, the last results of laboratory tests and the application of the ARAPUCA as the alternative photon detection system in the protoDUNE detector.

  11. Study on collection efficiency of fission products by spray: Experimental device and modelling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ducret, D.; Roblot, D.; Vendel, J. [Institut de Protection et de Surete Nucleaire, Gif-Sur-Yvette (France); Billarand, Y. [ECCO Pharmacie et Chimie, Neuilly (France)

    1997-08-01

    Consequences of an hypothetical overheating reactor accident in nuclear power plants can be limited by spraying cold water drops into containment building. The spray reduces the pressure and the temperature levels by condensation of steam and leads to the washout of fission products (aerosols and gaseous iodine). The present study includes a large program devoted to the evaluation of realistic washout rates. An experimental device (named CARAIDAS) was designed and built in order to determine the collection efficiency of aerosols and iodine absorption by drops with representative conditions of post-accident atmosphere. This experimental device is presented in the paper and more particularly: (1) the experimental enclosure in which representative thermodynamic conditions can be achieved, (2) the monosized drops generator, the drops diameter measurement and the drops collector, (3) the cesium iodide aerosols generator and the aerosols measurements. Modelling of steam condensation on drops aerosols collection and iodine absorption are described. First experimental and code results on drops and aerosols behaviour are compared. 8 refs., 18 figs.

  12. 77 FR 6573 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Collection of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-08

    ... qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the... Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Collection of Qualitative Feedback Through Focus... part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process to seek feedback from the public on...

  13. Myasthenia Gravis Impairment Index: Responsiveness, meaningful change, and relative efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnett, Carolina; Bril, Vera; Kapral, Moira; Kulkarni, Abhaya V; Davis, Aileen M

    2017-12-05

    To study responsiveness and meaningful change of the Myasthenia Gravis Impairment Index (MGII) and its relative efficiency compared to other measures. We enrolled 95 patients receiving prednisone, IV immunoglobulin (IVIg), or plasma exchange (PLEX) and 54 controls. Patients were assessed with the MGII and other measures-including the Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis Score, Myasthenia Gravis Composite, and Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living-at baseline and 3-4 weeks after treatment. Statistical markers of responsiveness included between-groups and within-group differences, and we estimated the relative efficiency of the MGII compared to other measures. Patient-meaningful change was assessed with an anchor-based method, using the patient's impression of change. We determined the minimal detectable change (MDC) and the minimal important difference (MID) at the group and individual level. Treated patients had a higher change in MGII scores than controls (analysis of covariance p 1 favoring the MGII. The MGII demonstrated responsiveness to prednisone, IVIg, and PLEX in patients with myasthenia. There is a differential response in ocular and generalized symptoms to type of therapy. The MGII has higher relative efficiency than comparison measures and is viable for use in clinical trials. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Neurology.

  14. Determination of relative efficiency of a detector using Monte Carlo method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Medeiros, M.P.C.; Rebello, W.F.; Lopes, J.M.; Silva, A.X.

    2015-01-01

    High-purity germanium detectors (HPGe) are mandatory tools for spectrometry because of their excellent energy resolution. The efficiency of such detectors, quoted in the list of specifications by the manufacturer, frequently refers to the relative full-energy peak efficiency, related to the absolute full-energy peak efficiency of a 7.6 cm x 7.6 cm (diameter x height) NaI(Tl) crystal, based on the 1.33 MeV peak of a 60 Co source positioned 25 cm from the detector. In this study, we used MCNPX code to simulate an HPGe detector (Canberra GC3020), from Real-Time Neutrongraphy Laboratory of UFRJ, to survey the spectrum of a 60 Co source located 25 cm from the detector in order to calculate and confirm the efficiency declared by the manufacturer. Agreement between experimental and simulated data was achieved. The model under development will be used for calculating and comparison purposes with the detector calibration curve from software Genie2000™, also serving as a reference for future studies. (author)

  15. Charge collection efficiency in ionization chambers operating in the recombination and saturation regimes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chabod, Sebastien P.

    2009-01-01

    We solve the electric charge transport equations in the recombination and saturation regimes using an iterative perturbation method. We then calculate the charge collection efficiencies of ionization chambers. The formulae obtained are presented in the form of series for which we calculate the first coefficients. Our approach allows to account for the spatial as well as the temporal variations of the primary charge density N(r,t) in the calculations. Finally, we apply our method to study different density patterns, N, including the textbook case N=N 0 δ(t) and the charge clusters and columns.

  16. Evaluating the efficiency of municipalities in collecting and processing municipal solid waste: a shared input DEA-model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogge, Nicky; De Jaeger, Simon

    2012-10-01

    This paper proposed an adjusted "shared-input" version of the popular efficiency measurement technique Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) that enables evaluating municipality waste collection and processing performances in settings in which one input (waste costs) is shared among treatment efforts of multiple municipal solid waste fractions. The main advantage of this version of DEA is that it not only provides an estimate of the municipalities overall cost efficiency but also estimates of the municipalities' cost efficiency in the treatment of the different fractions of municipal solid waste (MSW). To illustrate the practical usefulness of the shared input DEA-model, we apply the model to data on 293 municipalities in Flanders, Belgium, for the year 2008. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Relative efficiency and productivity: a preliminary exploration of public hospitals in Beijing, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hao; Dong, Siping; Liu, Tingfang

    2014-04-06

    Third-grade hospitals in Beijing have been rapidly developing in capacity and scale for many years. These hospitals receive a large number of patients, and ensuring their efficient operation is crucial in meeting people's healthcare needs. In this context, a study of their relative efficiency and productivity would be helpful to identify the driving factors and further improve their performance. After a review of literature, the current numbers of open beds and employees were selected as input variables. The number of outpatient and emergency visits and the number of discharged patients were selected as output variables. A total of 12 third-grade Class A general public hospitals in Beijing were selected for a preliminary study. The panel data from 2006-2009 were collected by the National Institute of Hospital Administration, Ministry of Health of P.R. China. Descriptive analysis and data envelopment analysis were used to analyze the data using Stata 10.0 and DEAP(V2.1) software. In the 2006-2009 period, descriptive results show that sample hospitals continuously expanded their capacity and scale, with growth rate of total revenue being the highest among all variables. The DEA results show that the average annual growth rate of productivity was 26.7%, and the rates were 47.3%, 21.3% and 13.8% respectively for two consecutive years. The average annual growth rate of technological change was 28.3%, and the rates were 49.4%, 21.5% and 16.4% respectively for two consecutive years. The average annual growth rate of technical efficiency change was -1.3%, and the rates were -1.4%, -0.02% and -2.2% respectively for two consecutive years. The sample hospitals in Beijing experienced substantial productivity growth, but annual growth rates were declining. Substantial technological change was the main contributor to the growth. Although some hospitals exhibited improvements in technical efficiency, there was a slight decline in general. To improve overall efficiency and

  18. Relative efficiency and productivity: a preliminary exploration of public hospitals in Beijing, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Third-grade hospitals in Beijing have been rapidly developing in capacity and scale for many years. These hospitals receive a large number of patients, and ensuring their efficient operation is crucial in meeting people’s healthcare needs. In this context, a study of their relative efficiency and productivity would be helpful to identify the driving factors and further improve their performance. Methods After a review of literature, the current numbers of open beds and employees were selected as input variables. The number of outpatient and emergency visits and the number of discharged patients were selected as output variables. A total of 12 third-grade Class A general public hospitals in Beijing were selected for a preliminary study. The panel data from 2006–2009 were collected by the National Institute of Hospital Administration, Ministry of Health of P.R. China. Descriptive analysis and data envelopment analysis were used to analyze the data using Stata 10.0 and DEAP(V2.1) software. Results In the 2006–2009 period, descriptive results show that sample hospitals continuously expanded their capacity and scale, with growth rate of total revenue being the highest among all variables. The DEA results show that the average annual growth rate of productivity was 26.7%, and the rates were 47.3%, 21.3% and 13.8% respectively for two consecutive years. The average annual growth rate of technological change was 28.3%, and the rates were 49.4%, 21.5% and 16.4% respectively for two consecutive years. The average annual growth rate of technical efficiency change was -1.3%, and the rates were -1.4%, -0.02% and -2.2% respectively for two consecutive years. Conclusions The sample hospitals in Beijing experienced substantial productivity growth, but annual growth rates were declining. Substantial technological change was the main contributor to the growth. Although some hospitals exhibited improvements in technical efficiency, there was a slight decline in

  19. Efficiency of municipal service providers in the Republic of Croatia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alemka Šegota

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Municipal services, such as the collection, removal and disposal of waste, are just some of the necessary activities carried out by public authorities. Efficient management and utilization of public resources improves the general well-being of a community, and benefits especially the users of municipal services. Hence, the optimal provision of public services is essential. This paper gives a comprehensive overview of municipal services, related primarily to waste collection and disposal, and other related municipal services. The purpose of the paper is to determine the relative cost efficiency of twenty public utility companies that collect household waste in different Croatian cities and surrounding municipalities. The method employed in the study is Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA, using a non-controllable input-oriented model with variable returns to scale. In addition to the relative efficiency results of each utility company, by means of projections on the efficiency frontier, sources and amounts of relative inefficiency were determined, which represent potential improvements for all inefficient utility companies. The results indicate that all inefficient utility companies can improve their efficiency by reducing the corresponding inputs. Thus, company material costs should be drastically reduced, i.e., the relatively inefficient utility company (with the exception of two companies should reduce costs by at least 50%. Considering employee costs, half of the relatively inefficient utility companies should reduce such costs by up to 50%, while the other half should reduce those costs by 58.11% to about 70%. Furthermore, five of the inefficient companies should reduce total assets input by a relatively small amount (up to 38.00%, whereas the remaining seven companies should reduce the company's total assets from 60.96% to 70.99%. This means that management at inefficient companies take into account the obtained results when making decisions in

  20. Laser Direct Writing of Tree-Shaped Hierarchical Cones on a Superhydrophobic Film for High-Efficiency Water Collection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Meng; Liu, Qian; Zhang, Haoran; Wang, Chuang; Wang, Lei; Xiang, Bingxi; Fan, Yongtao; Guo, Chuan Fei; Ruan, Shuangchen

    2017-08-30

    Directional water collection has stimulated a great deal of interest because of its potential applications in the field of microfluidics, liquid transportation, fog harvesting, and so forth. There have been some bio or bioinspired structures for directional water collection, from one-dimensional spider silk to two-dimensional star-like patterns to three-dimensional Nepenthes alata. Here we present a simple way for the accurate design and highly controllable driving of tiny droplets: by laser direct writing of hierarchical patterns with modified wettability and desired geometry on a superhydrophobic film, the patterned film can precisely and directionally drive tiny water droplets and dramatically improve the efficiency of water collection with a factor of ∼36 compared with the original superhydrophobic film. Such a patterned film might be an ideal platform for water collection from humid air and for planar microfluidics without tunnels.

  1. Coping efficiently with now-relative medical data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stantic, Bela; Terenziani, Paolo; Sattar, Abdul

    2008-11-06

    In Medical Informatics, there is an increasing awareness that temporal information plays a crucial role, so that suitable database approaches are needed to store and support it. Specifically, most clinical data are intrinsically temporal, and a relevant part of them are now-relative (i.e., they are valid at the current time). Even if previous studies indicate that the treatment of now-relative data has a crucial impact on efficiency, current approaches have several limitations. In this paper we propose a novel approach, which is based on a new representation of now, and on query transformations. We also experimentally demonstrate that our approach outperforms its best competitors in the literature to the extent of a factor of more than ten, both in number of disk accesses and of CPU usage.

  2. The impact of preapheresis white blood cell count on autologous peripheral blood stem cell collection efficiency and HSC infusion side effect rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakashita, Araci M; Kondo, Andrea T; Yokoyama, Ana Paula H; Lira, Sanny M C; Bub, Carolina B; Souza, Aline M; Cipolletta, Andrea N F; Alvarez, Kelen C; Hamerschlak, Nelson; Kutner, Jose M; Chiattone, Carlos S

    2018-01-19

    Autologous peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell (PBSC) collection efficiency (CE) is reportedly affected by the patient's blood properties; however, studies to identify factors correlated with CE have shown inconsistent results. Additionally, variables such as stem cell graft granulocyte content and patient age, sex, and underlying disease, may be associated with hematopietic stem cell (HSC) infusion-related adverse reactions. In this study, we evaluated the correlation of preleukapheresis PB granulocyte count and PBSC harvest variables with CD34 + collection yield and efficiency, and thawed HSC infusion side effect occurrence. We evaluated data from 361 patients who had undergone autologous PBSC transplant. Large volume leukapheresis was the method for PBSC collection. Complete Blood Count and CD34 + cell enumeration were performed in the preapheresis PB and the apheresis product sample. The PBSC grafts were submitted to non-controlled rate freezing after addition of 5% DMSO plus 6% hidroxyethylstarch as a cryoprotectant solution. The cryopreserved graft was thawed in a 37°C water bath and then infused without further manipulation. The CD34 + yield was associated with preapheresis PB CD34 + count and immature granulocyte count. The PBSC CE was negatively correlated with preapheresis white blood cell (WBC), immature granulocyte and granulocyte count. The leukapheresis product total nucleated cell (TNC) and granulocyte content was correlated with the thawed graft infusion side effect occurrence. This study has shown that preapheresis PB WBC and granulocyte counts were associated with leukapheresis CE. Additionally, the leukapheresis product TNC and granulocyte content was correlated with thawed graft infusion side effect occurrence. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. THE EFFECT OF THE REYNOLDS NUMBER OF AIR FLOW TO THE PARTICLE COLLECTION EFFICIENCY OF A FIBROUS FILTER MEDIUM WITH CYLINDRICAL SECTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George P. Kouropoulos

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available At this study an attempt for the theoretical approach of the Re ynolds number effect of air flow to the particle collection efficiency of a fibrous fil ter with cylindrical section will be made. Initially, a report of the air filtration models to fibrous filter media will be presented along with an explanation of both the parameters and the physical quantities which govern the air filtration process. Furthermore, the resul ting equation from the mathematical model will be applied to a real filter medium and the characteristic curves of filter efficiency will be drawn. The change of a filter medi um efficiency with regard to the Reynolds number of air flow that passes through the filt er, derived from the curves, will be studied. The general conclusion that we have is that as the Reynolds number of filtered air increases, the collection efficiency of the filter decreases.

  4. Simulation of the electron collection efficiency of a PMT based on the MCP coated with high secondary yield material

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Lin, E-mail: chenlin@opt.cn [State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi' an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi' an 710119 (China); Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100049 (China); Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006 (China); Tian, Jinshou [State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi' an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi' an 710119 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006 (China); Zhao, Tianchi [Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of CAS, Beijing 100049 (China); Liu, Chunliang [Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Liu, Hulin; Wei, Yonglin; Sai, Xiaofeng [State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi' an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi' an 710119 (China); Chen, Ping [State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi' an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi' an 710119 (China); Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100049 (China); Wang, Xing; Lu, Yu [State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi' an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi' an 710119 (China); Hui, Dandan [State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi' an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi' an 710119 (China); Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100049 (China)

    2016-11-01

    Owning to the serious loss of photoelectrons striking at the input electrode of traditional microchannel plate (MCP), photoelectron collection efficiency (CE) of photomultiplier tubes based on MCP (MCP-PMTs) fluctuates around the MCP open area fraction and cannot make a breakthrough. Depositing a thin film of high secondary electron yield material on the MCP is proposed as an effective approach to improve the CE. The available simulation and experimental data to validate it, however, is sparse. In our work, a three-dimensional small area MCP model is developed in CST Studio Suite to evaluate the collection efficiencies of PMTs based on the traditional MCP and the coated one, respectively. Results predict that CE of the PMT based on the coated MCP has a significant increase and a better uniformity, which is expected to reach 100%.

  5. Network efficiency in autism spectrum disorder and its relation to brain overgrowth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John D Lewis

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available A substantial body of evidence links differences in brain size to differences in brain organization. We have hypothesized that the developmental aspect of this relation plays a role in autism spectrum disorder (ASD, a neurodevelopmental disorder which involves abnormalities in brain growth. Children with ASD have abnormally large brains by the second year of life, and for several years thereafter their brain size can be multiple standard deviations above the norm. The greater conduction delays and cellular costs presumably associated with the longer long-distance connections in these larger brains is thought to influence developmental processes, giving rise to an altered brain organization with less communication between spatially distant regions. This has been supported by computational models and by findings linking greater intra-cranial volume, an index of maximum brain-size during development, to reduced inter-hemispheric connectivity in individuals with ASD. In this paper, we further assess this hypothesis via a whole-brain analysis of network efficiency. We utilize diffusion tractography to estimate the strength and length of the connections between all pairs of cortical regions. We compute the efficiency of communication between each network node and all others, and within local neighborhoods; we then assess the relation of these measures to intra-cranial volume, and the differences in these measures between adults with autism and typical controls. Intra-cranial volume is shown to be inversely related to efficiency for wide-spread regions of cortex. Moreover, the spatial patterns of reductions in efficiency in autism bear a striking resemblance to the regional relationships between efficiency and intra-cranial volume, particularly for local efficiency. The results thus provide further support for the hypothesized link between brain overgrowth in children with autism and the efficiency of the organization of the brain in adults with autism.

  6. The relative efficiency of bank branches in lending and borrowing: An application of data envelopment analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G van der Westhuizen

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The relative efficiency of fifty-two branches of a small South African bank was estimated using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA.  A factor responsible for the difference in efficiency between branches might be the difference in managing the asset (loans and the liability (deposit side of the balance sheet.  For this reason, the relative efficiency of the lending and borrowing activities was also estimated and compared to the relative efficiency of the combined (lending and borrowing activities.In the case of the efficiency estimates for loans and deposits, the indications are that the branches were more efficient in managing the liability side (deposits than  in managing the asset side (loans.  This means that purchased funds were not utilised efficiently.

  7. Nutritional efficiency of alpha-ketoisocaproate relative to leucine, assessed isotopically

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, C.W.; Walser, M.

    1985-01-01

    The efficiency of alpha-ketoisocaproate as a dietary substitute for leucine was assessed in rats by two techniques: first, the minimal dose of alpha-ketoisocaproate required, as a supplement to a leucine-free diet, to achieve a growth rate as great as animals receiving leucine was found to be between 2.2 and 4.4 times larger. Therefore the nutritional efficiency of alpha-ketoisocaproate lies between 0.23 and 0.46. Second, alpha-[1- 14 C]-ketoisocaproate and [ 3 H]leucine were administered orally and the ratio of 14 C/ 3 H incorporated into the leucine of whole-body protein and fibrin was measured. This ratio, divided by the ratio 14 C/ 3 H injected, was the same in fibrin as in whole-body protein and averaged 0.39. Thus both techniques yield the same value, within the error of measurement, for the relative nutritional efficiency of alpha-ketoisocaproate. The authors also found that alpha-ketoisocaproate feeding at varying dosage did not alter this ratio in whole-body protein, suggesting that neither wide variations in growth rate nor exposure for 10 days to alpha-ketoisocaproate alters the relative rates of utilization (or oxidation) of alpha-ketoisocaproate vs. leucine

  8. Nutritional efficiency of alpha-ketoisocaproate relative to leucine, assessed isotopically

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, C.W.; Walser, M.

    1985-10-01

    The efficiency of alpha-ketoisocaproate as a dietary substitute for leucine was assessed in rats by two techniques: first, the minimal dose of alpha-ketoisocaproate required, as a supplement to a leucine-free diet, to achieve a growth rate as great as animals receiving leucine was found to be between 2.2 and 4.4 times larger. Therefore the nutritional efficiency of alpha-ketoisocaproate lies between 0.23 and 0.46. Second, alpha-(1- UC)-ketoisocaproate and (TH)leucine were administered orally and the ratio of UC/TH incorporated into the leucine of whole-body protein and fibrin was measured. This ratio, divided by the ratio UC/TH injected, was the same in fibrin as in whole-body protein and averaged 0.39. Thus both techniques yield the same value, within the error of measurement, for the relative nutritional efficiency of alpha-ketoisocaproate. The authors also found that alpha-ketoisocaproate feeding at varying dosage did not alter this ratio in whole-body protein, suggesting that neither wide variations in growth rate nor exposure for 10 days to alpha-ketoisocaproate alters the relative rates of utilization (or oxidation) of alpha-ketoisocaproate vs. leucine.

  9. Privatization of solid waste collection services: Lessons from Gaborone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolaane, Benjamin; Isaac, Emmanuel

    2015-06-01

    Formal privatization of solid waste collection activities has often been flagged as a suitable intervention for some of the challenges of solid waste management experienced by developing countries. Proponents of outsourcing collection to the private sector argue that in contrast to the public sector, it is more effective and efficient in delivering services. This essay is a comparative case study of efficiency and effectiveness attributes between the public and the formal private sector, in relation to the collection of commercial waste in Gaborone. The paper is based on analysis of secondary data and key informant interviews. It was found that while, the private sector performed comparatively well in most of the chosen indicators of efficiency and effectiveness, the public sector also had areas where it had a competitive advantage. For instance, the private sector used the collection crew more efficiently, while the public sector was found to have a more reliable workforce. The study recommends that, while formal private sector participation in waste collection has some positive effects in terms of quality of service rendered, in most developing countries, it has to be enhanced by building sufficient capacity within the public sector on information about services contracted out and evaluation of performance criteria within the contracting process. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Like father, Like Son? Collective decisions taking into account family relations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ariádne Scalfoni Rigo

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This teaching case aims to promote reflection on other possible economic actions and alternative management models based on proximity relations. It presents a real situation in a community in the interior of Bahia, experienced by a Community Development Bank, which is an innovative experience on solidarity financing in Brazil and worldwide, related to a credit request by a certain Mr. Francisco. In order to protect his son, Pedro, Francisco created a dilemma that Ms. Marta, the credit agent of the Community Development Bank, sought to solve within the Credit Analysis Committee, a collective decision-making structure based on neighborhood relations.  The decision was not easy and involved many variables. This case allows to discuss the influence of community relations on solidarity finances, in collective management structures, and in the dynamics of Community Development Banks.

  11. Study on calibration of neutron efficiency and relative photo-yield of plastic scintillator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng Taiping; Zhang Chuanfei; Li Rurong; Zhang Jianhua; Luo Xiaobing; Xia Yijun; Yang Zhihua

    2002-01-01

    A method used for the calibration of neutron efficiency and the relative photo yield of plastic scintillator is studied. T(p, n) and D(d, n) reactions are used as neutron resources. The neutron efficiencies and the relative photo yields of plastic scintillators 1421 (40 mm in diameter and 5 mm in thickness) and determined in the neutron energy range of 0.655-5 MeV

  12. Fluorescence detection using optical waveguide collection device with high efficiency on assembly of nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shaowen; Ma, Zongmin; Qin, Li; Fu, Yueping; Shi, Yunbo; Liu, Jun; Li, Yan Jun

    2018-01-01

    In this letter, we propose a fluorescence waveguide excitation and collection (FWEC) method that allows for an excess of 45% collection efficiency of pump photons into optically detected magnetic resonance. The FWEC system used can collect fluorescence 96 times higher than the confocal system under spin manipulation with a microwave. Furthermore, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the FWEC system is improved 9 times compared with that of the confocal system. In addition, the increase in contrast observed using the FWEC system shows that the integration of the system is much improved with 3D printing technology. Thus, this research has a great potential application in subsequent magnetic detection and quantum optics.

  13. Market Efficiency within the German Stock Market: A Comparative Study of the Relative Efficiencies of the DAX, MDAX, SDAX and ASE Indices

    OpenAIRE

    Starcevic, Admin; Rodgers, Timothy

    2011-01-01

    It can be implied from the efficient market hypothesis that the more transparent a market is, then the more likely that the market will be efficient. This paper is a study of whether the different transparency standards applied to the different indices quoted on the German stock market have any impact on their relative efficiencies. It is found that the differences in transparency standards do have an impact on market efficiency. The case for a higher level of market efficiency in res...

  14. DEA best practice assesses relative efficiency, profitability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, D.T.; Thompson, R.G.

    1995-01-01

    The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in its Order 636 of Apr. 8, 1992, stated, ''All natural gas suppliers, including pipelines, will compete for gas purchases on an equal footing.'' This FERC order changed the economic environment in the natural gas pipeline industry. Now, gas pipeline companies must know their market position, since rate of return regulation is no longer relevant. They must be managed more than before as companies have been in less-regulated parts of the oil and gas business. How they adapt to the new environment, therefore, can be instructive to companies throughout the energy industry. In this article, DEA best-practice methods measure relative efficiency and profitability potential. This measurement reflects fundamental economic relationships. The operational efficiency model analyzed is as follows: Y 1 = f(x 1 , x 2 ), where Y 1 is gross profits, x 1 is total assets (capital employed), and x 2 is total employees (labor employed). Y 1 is a comprehensive indicator of a pipeline's output, whereas x 1 represents the pipeline's total capital employed, and x 2 represents the pipeline's total labor employed. This model reflects principles long studied in economics

  15. Privatization of solid waste collection services: Lessons from Gaborone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bolaane, Benjamin; Isaac, Emmanuel

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • We compared efficiency and effectiveness of waste collection by the public and private sector. • Public sector performs better than private sector in some areas and vice versa. • Outsourcing waste collection in developing countries is hindered by limited capacity on contractual issues. • Outsourcing collection in developing countries is hampered by inadequate waste information. • There is need to build capacity in the public sector of developing countries to support outsourcing. - Abstract: Formal privatization of solid waste collection activities has often been flagged as a suitable intervention for some of the challenges of solid waste management experienced by developing countries. Proponents of outsourcing collection to the private sector argue that in contrast to the public sector, it is more effective and efficient in delivering services. This essay is a comparative case study of efficiency and effectiveness attributes between the public and the formal private sector, in relation to the collection of commercial waste in Gaborone. The paper is based on analysis of secondary data and key informant interviews. It was found that while, the private sector performed comparatively well in most of the chosen indicators of efficiency and effectiveness, the public sector also had areas where it had a competitive advantage. For instance, the private sector used the collection crew more efficiently, while the public sector was found to have a more reliable workforce. The study recommends that, while formal private sector participation in waste collection has some positive effects in terms of quality of service rendered, in most developing countries, it has to be enhanced by building sufficient capacity within the public sector on information about services contracted out and evaluation of performance criteria within the contracting process

  16. Privatization of solid waste collection services: Lessons from Gaborone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bolaane, Benjamin, E-mail: bolaaneb@mopipi.ub.bw; Isaac, Emmanuel, E-mail: eisaac300@gmail.com

    2015-06-15

    Highlights: • We compared efficiency and effectiveness of waste collection by the public and private sector. • Public sector performs better than private sector in some areas and vice versa. • Outsourcing waste collection in developing countries is hindered by limited capacity on contractual issues. • Outsourcing collection in developing countries is hampered by inadequate waste information. • There is need to build capacity in the public sector of developing countries to support outsourcing. - Abstract: Formal privatization of solid waste collection activities has often been flagged as a suitable intervention for some of the challenges of solid waste management experienced by developing countries. Proponents of outsourcing collection to the private sector argue that in contrast to the public sector, it is more effective and efficient in delivering services. This essay is a comparative case study of efficiency and effectiveness attributes between the public and the formal private sector, in relation to the collection of commercial waste in Gaborone. The paper is based on analysis of secondary data and key informant interviews. It was found that while, the private sector performed comparatively well in most of the chosen indicators of efficiency and effectiveness, the public sector also had areas where it had a competitive advantage. For instance, the private sector used the collection crew more efficiently, while the public sector was found to have a more reliable workforce. The study recommends that, while formal private sector participation in waste collection has some positive effects in terms of quality of service rendered, in most developing countries, it has to be enhanced by building sufficient capacity within the public sector on information about services contracted out and evaluation of performance criteria within the contracting process.

  17. Collective bargaining under the new Labour Relations Act: The ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2 PHILOSOPHY OF THE NEW ACT. The 1956 Act was premised on a "pluralist" perspective) of the relation- ... However, in view of the Act's ostensible abstentionist approach, interven- tion by the courts in the bargaining ... trade union members but who are, in terms of a collective agreement, nevertheless represented by the ...

  18. The Onsager reciprocity relation and generalized efficiency of a thermal Brownian motor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tian-Fu, Gao; Jin-Can, Chen; Yue, Zhang

    2009-01-01

    Based on a general model of Brownian motors, the Onsager coefficients and generalized efficiency of a thermal Brownian motor are calculated analytically. It is found that the Onsager reciprocity relation holds and the Onsager coefficients are not affected by the kinetic energy change due to the particle's motion. Only when the heat leak in the system is negligible can the determinant of the Onsager matrix vanish. Moreover, the influence of the main parameters characterizing the model on the generalized efficiency of the Brownian motor is discussed in detail. The characteristic curves of the generalized efficiency varying with these parameters are presented, and the maximum generalized efficiency and the corresponding optimum parameters are determined. The results obtained here are of general significance. They are used to analyze the performance characteristics of the Brownian motors operating in the three interesting cases with zero heat leak, zero average drift velocity or a linear response relation, so that some important conclusions in current references are directly included in some limit cases of the present paper. (general)

  19. Highly accurate determination of relative gamma-ray detection efficiency for Ge detector and its application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyahara, H.; Mori, C.; Fleming, R.F.; Dewaraja, Y.K.

    1997-01-01

    When quantitative measurements of γ-rays using High-Purity Ge (HPGe) detectors are made for a variety of applications, accurate knowledge of oy-ray detection efficiency is required. The emission rates of γ-rays from sources can be determined quickly in the case that the absolute peak efficiency is calibrated. On the other hand, the relative peak efficiencies can be used for determination of intensity ratios for plural samples and for comparison to the standard source. Thus, both absolute and relative detection efficiencies are important in use of γ-ray detector. The objective of this work is to determine the relative gamma-ray peak detection efficiency for an HPGe detector with the uncertainty approaching 0.1% . We used some nuclides which emit at least two gamma-rays with energies from 700 to 2400 keV for which the relative emission probabilities are known with uncertainties much smaller than 0.1%. The relative peak detection efficiencies were calculated from the measurements of the nuclides, 46 Sc, 48 Sc, 60 Co and 94 Nb, emitting two γ- rays with the emission probabilities of almost unity. It is important that various corrections for the emission probabilities, the cascade summing effect, and the self-absorption are small. A third order polynomial function on both logarithmic scales of energy and efficiency was fitted to the data, and the peak efficiency predicted at certain energy from covariance matrix showed the uncertainty less than 0.5% except for near 700 keV. As an application, the emission probabilities of the 1037.5 and 1212.9 keV γ-rays for 48 Sc were determined using the function of the highly precise relative peak efficiency. Those were 0.9777+0,.00079 and 0.02345+0.00017 for the 1037.5 and 1212.9 keV γ-rays, respectively. The sum of these probabilities is close to unity within the uncertainty which means that the certainties of the results are high and the accuracy has been improved considerably

  20. Productive efficiency in the banking industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martín Leandro Dutto Giolongo

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this paper is to estimate the productive efficiency of Argentine banks. For this purpose, panel data of the universe of banks under the supervision of the Central Bank of the Republic of Argentina (BCRA has been collected. In order to build the bank´s indicators, we used a database of 66 institutions, with annual information for the period 2009-2013. The sources of information were both the BCRA´s web site (www.bcra.gov.ar, and the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange´s web site (www.bolsar.com. It has been selected an efficiency indicator ranging between 0 and 1, meaning the lowest and highest level of efficiency, respectively. The concept of efficiency used here is a relative one, because it considers a Bank´s performance in relation to the behavior of the best players in the industry, being the latter the base of the industry benchmark or frontier. The results show that the mean efficiency of Argentine banks is 0,8277 in the specific period under consideration. The comparison with the results of other studies relating efficiency and competitive pressure, didn´t allow us to infer that the Argentine banking industry experienced in the period a high level of competition

  1. An application of data envelopment analysis for measuring the relative efficiency in banking industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehdi Soltanifar

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Measuring the relative efficiency of banking industry has been a popular subject among both practitioners and academicians. Data envelopment analysis (DEA has been widely applied for different purposes. This paper presents an empirical investigation to measure the relative efficiency of various banks located in province of Semnan, Iran. The proposed study uses DEA method to rank all units and using Anderson and Peterson method (1993 [Andersen, P., & Petersen, N. C. (1993. A procedure for ranking efficient units in data envelopment analysis. Management Science, 39, 1261-1264], we provide some super efficiency for inefficient units. The study also provides reference numbers for inefficient units and gives some target values for all inefficient units.

  2. The Relative Efficiency of Charter Schools: A Cost Frontier Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gronberg, Timothy J.; Jansen, Dennis W.; Taylor, Lori L.

    2012-01-01

    Charters represent an expansion of public school choice, offering free, publicly funded educational alternatives to traditional public schools. One relatively unexplored research question concerning charter schools asks whether charter schools are more efficient suppliers of educational services than are traditional public schools. The potential…

  3. A robust AHP-DEA method for measuring the relative efficiency: An application of airport industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amin Foroughi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Measuring the relative efficiency of similar units has been an important topic of research among many researchers. Data envelopment analysis has been one of the most important techniques for measuring the efficiency of different units. However, there are some limitations on using such technique and some people prefer to use other methods such as analytical hierarchy process to measure the relative efficiencies. Besides, uncertainty in the input data is another issue, which makes some misleading results. In this paper, we present an integrated robust DEA-AHP to measure the relative efficiency of similar units. The proposed model of this is believed to capable of presenting better results in terms of efficiency compared with exclusive usage of DEA or AHP. The implementation of the proposed model is demonstrated for a real-world case study of Airport industry and the results are analyzed.

  4. Logistics systems for recycling - Efficient collection of household waste

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jahre, M

    1996-12-31

    This dissertation investigates collection and recycling of household waste with focus on packaging materials. The purpose is how to describe and explain the design of a collection system according to different system environments in order to achieve high logistics performance in terms of low cost and high service. The research approach consists of two main parts. First, data on existing systems are collected and analyzed. Then a model is used to analyze cost consequences from changes in the system and the environment. Four main properties of reverse distribution channels were identified including the number of distribution levels and distribution points, whether the system is bring or kerbside, the degree of separation at source and the degree of co-collection. The study further demonstrates that performance can be measured in a number of ways including service toward end-markets and households, costs, environmental consequences and programme ratios. Finally, two main environmental factors identified were population density and the number of materials being collected in the system. The major conclusion from the study is that systems in areas with low population density should collect and recycle few materials that should be separated at the source and then co-collected. Systems in areas with high population density, on the other hand, may collect many materials, but then centralized separation (i.e. processing in a MRF) should take place. 103 refs, 72 figs, 65 tabs

  5. Logistics systems for recycling - Efficient collection of household waste

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jahre, M.

    1995-12-31

    This dissertation investigates collection and recycling of household waste with focus on packaging materials. The purpose is how to describe and explain the design of a collection system according to different system environments in order to achieve high logistics performance in terms of low cost and high service. The research approach consists of two main parts. First, data on existing systems are collected and analyzed. Then a model is used to analyze cost consequences from changes in the system and the environment. Four main properties of reverse distribution channels were identified including the number of distribution levels and distribution points, whether the system is bring or kerbside, the degree of separation at source and the degree of co-collection. The study further demonstrates that performance can be measured in a number of ways including service toward end-markets and households, costs, environmental consequences and programme ratios. Finally, two main environmental factors identified were population density and the number of materials being collected in the system. The major conclusion from the study is that systems in areas with low population density should collect and recycle few materials that should be separated at the source and then co-collected. Systems in areas with high population density, on the other hand, may collect many materials, but then centralized separation (i.e. processing in a MRF) should take place. 103 refs, 72 figs, 65 tabs

  6. Genome-wide association study and genetic diversity analysis on nitrogen use efficiency in a Central European winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. collection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    István Monostori

    Full Text Available To satisfy future demands, the increase of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. yield is inevitable. Simultaneously, maintaining high crop productivity and efficient use of nutrients, especially nitrogen use efficiency (NUE, are essential for sustainable agriculture. NUE and its components are inherently complex and highly influenced by environmental factors, nitrogen management practices and genotypic variation. Therefore, a better understanding of their genetic basis and regulation is fundamental. To investigate NUE-related traits and their genetic and environmental regulation, field trials were evaluated in a Central European wheat collection of 93 cultivars at two nitrogen input levels across three seasons. This elite germplasm collection was genotyped on DArTseq® genotypic platform to identify loci affecting N-related complex agronomic traits. To conduct robust genome-wide association mapping, the genetic diversity, population structure and linkage disequilibrium were examined. Population structure was investigated by various methods and two subpopulations were identified. Their separation is based on the breeding history of the cultivars, while analysis of linkage disequilibrium suggested that selective pressures had acted on genomic regions bearing loci with remarkable agronomic importance. Besides NUE, genetic basis for variation in agronomic traits indirectly affecting NUE and its components, moreover genetic loci underlying response to nitrogen fertilisation were also determined. Altogether, 183 marker-trait associations (MTA were identified spreading over almost the entire genome. We found that most of the MTAs were environmental-dependent. The present study identified several associated markers in those genomic regions where previous reports had found genes or quantitative trait loci influencing the same traits, while most of the MTAs revealed new genomic regions. Our data provides an overview of the allele composition of bread wheat

  7. Improving collection efficiency through remote monitoring of charity assets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLeod, Fraser; Erdogan, Gunes; Cherrett, Tom; Bektas, Tolga; Davies, Nigel; Shingleton, Duncan; Speed, Chris; Dickinson, Janet; Norgate, Sarah

    2014-02-01

    Collection costs associated with servicing a major UK charity's donation banks and collecting unsold goods from their retail shops can account for up to 20% of the overall income gained. Bank and shop collections are commingled and are typically made on fixed days of the week irrespective of the amounts of materials waiting to be collected. Using collection records from a major UK charity, this paper considers what vehicle routing and scheduling benefits could accrue if bank and shop servicing requirements were monitored, the former using remote sensing technology to allow more proactive collection scheduling. A vehicle routing and scheduling algorithm employing tabu search methods was developed, and suggested time and distance savings of up to 30% over the current fixed schedules when a minimum bank and shop fill level of between 50% and 60% was used as a collection trigger. For the case study investigated, this led to a potential revenue gain of 5% for the charity and estimated CO2 savings of around 0.5 tonnes per week across the fleet of six heterogeneous vehicles. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. International Congress on Energy Efficiency and Energy Related Materials

    CERN Document Server

    Bahsi, Zehra; Ozer, Mehmet; ENEFM2013

    2014-01-01

    The International Congress on Energy Efficiency and Energy Related Materials (ENEFM2013) was held on 9-12 October, 2013. This three-day congress focused on the latest developments of sustainable energy technologies, materials for sustainable energy applications and environmental & economic perspectives of energy. These proceedings include 63 peer reviewed technical papers, submitted from leading academic and research institutions from over 23 countries, representing some of the most cutting edge research available. The papers included were presented at the congress in the following sessions: General Issues Wind Energy Solar Energy Nuclear Energy Biofuels and Bioenergy Energy Storage Energy Conservation and Efficiency Energy in Buildings   Economical and Environmental Issues Environment Energy Requirements Economic Development   Materials for Sustainable Energy Hydrogen Production and Storage Photovoltaic Cells Thermionic Converters Batteries and Superconductors Phase Change Materials Fuel Cells Supercon...

  9. Collective issues related to B-factories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pestrikov, D.V.

    1993-02-01

    This report reviews the limitations on the performance of the planned B- and Φ-factories due to the collective interactions of stored bunches. Together with the traditional revision of the limitations due to the single- and multi-bunch interaction with surrounding electrodes, we briefly discuss in this report the limitations on the performance due to collective beam-beam instabilities of colliding beams and instabilities due to the collective interaction of beams with the ions. (author)

  10. Relational iterations and emotional activations: towards a radicalization of processuality of collective identities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Martínez

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Collective identity has been conceptualized by social movement theories mainly as a definition. In this text, based in feminist theories, I argue that the conceptualization of collective identity as a definition forgets other fundamental dimensions —mainly relations and emotions— and, moreover, limits its processual character. This argument is based on the study of contemporary feminist mobilizations in Spain through a qualitative fieldwork (quasi-biographical interviews, focus groups, participant observations and the analysis of written and graphic materials. The analysis allows the widening of dimensions of collective identities —from definitions to relations and emotions— as well as the radicalization of their processuality by placing the notions of iteration and activation at the heart of the analysis. I offer a theoretical-analytical proposal that understands that collective identities are but partial materializations, always unfinished processes.

  11. How phonological awareness mediates the relation between working memory and word reading efficiency in children with dyslexia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knoop-van Campen, Carolien A N; Segers, Eliane; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2018-05-01

    This study examined the relation between working memory, phonological awareness, and word reading efficiency in fourth-grade children with dyslexia. To test whether the relation between phonological awareness and word reading efficiency differed for children with dyslexia versus typically developing children, we assessed phonological awareness and word reading efficiency in 50 children with dyslexia (aged 9;10, 35 boys) and 613 typically developing children (aged 9;5, 279 boys). Phonological awareness was found to be associated with word reading efficiency, similar for children with dyslexia and typically developing children. To find out whether the relation between working memory and word reading efficiency in the group with dyslexia could be explained by phonological awareness, the children with dyslexia were also tested on working memory. Results of a mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of working memory on word reading efficiency via phonological awareness. Working memory predicted reading efficiency, via its relation with phonological awareness in children with dyslexia. This indicates that working memory is necessary for word reading efficiency via its impact on phonological awareness and that phonological awareness continues to be important for word reading efficiency in older children with dyslexia. © 2018 The Authors Dyslexia Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Overview and theory relating to the concepts of competitiveness, efficiency and productivity

    OpenAIRE

    Latruffe, Laure

    2017-01-01

    This is a brief overview and theory relating to the concepts of competitiveness, efficiency and productivity: concept of competitiveness, measurement of competitiveness, determinants of competitiveness.

  13. Energy efficient policy impact in India: case study of investment in industrial energy efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, M.

    2006-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to identify the effectiveness of energy policy and capital investment in energy efficiency technologies in the industrial sector in India. Indian energy policies relating to industrial energy efficiency over the past 25 years are briefly reviewed, and a comparison study of these energy efficiency policies and strategies in India and China has been carried out. Interviews were conducted with a number of government policy-making institutions and a national industrial development bank. The accounts of 26 industrial enterprises which applied and used a loan of the Asian Development Bank were audited for data collection. Field-visits to seven industrial entrepreneurs were undertaken in a case study. Methodologies used in this study include documentation, cross-country reviews on energy policies, questionnaire design and distribution in the industrial sector, and on-site auditing of energy efficiency technologies. This paper concludes that current energy policies and strategies in India need further improvement to promote energy efficiency investment and energy efficiency technology development in the industrial sector. This paper will interest those policy makers and industrial entrepreneurs who are willing to finance energy efficiency projects and improve energy efficiency in the industrial sector. (author)

  14. Energy efficiency policy impact in India: case study of investment in industrial energy efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Ming

    2006-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to identify the effectiveness of energy policy and capital investment in energy efficiency technologies in the industrial sector in India. Indian energy policies relating to industrial energy efficiency over the past 25 years are briefly reviewed, and a comparison study of these energy efficiency policies and strategies in India and China has been carried out. Interviews were conducted with a number of government policy-making institutions and a national industrial development bank. The accounts of 26 industrial enterprises which applied and used a loan of the Asian Development Bank were audited for data collection. Field-visits to seven industrial entrepreneurs were undertaken in a case study. Methodologies used in this study include documentation, cross-country reviews on energy policies, questionnaire design and distribution in the industrial sector, and on-site auditing of energy efficiency technologies. This paper concludes that current energy policies and strategies in India need further improvement to promote energy efficiency investment and energy efficiency technology development in the industrial sector. This paper will interest those policy makers and industrial entrepreneurs who are willing to finance energy efficiency projects and improve energy efficiency in the industrial sector

  15. Relative dose efficiencies of antiscatter grids and air gaps in pediatric radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McDaniel, D.L.; Cohen, G.; Wagner, L.K.; Robinson, L.H.

    1984-01-01

    The relative dose efficiencies (RDE) of various antiscatter grids and air gaps were determined for conditions simulating those found in pediatric radiography, using phantoms representing a newborn child, a 5-yr-old and a 10-yr-old child. Our data indicate than an air gap is best for the newborn, due to the low levels of scatter. The 8:1 fiber grid or 15.2-cm air gap without a grid can improve dose efficiency (DE) for the 5-yr-old child by 20%--25% relative to the 3.3-cm air gap and no-grid technique, while for the 10-yr-old child, DE can be improved by 40% with an 8:1 fiber grid

  16. The effect of an acoustic field on the filtration efficiency of aerosols by a granular bed

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tavossi, H.

    1985-06-01

    A theoretical and an experimental study were developed in order to evaluate the parameters controlling the aerosol collection efficiency of a granular bed, i.e. all the chief collection mechanisms and the effect of acoustic waves on this efficiency. The action of acoustic waves of appropriate intensity and frequency increased the efficiency of the granular bed significantly for all aerosol sizes including those corresponding to the minimum efficiency. The theoretical prediction was verified by an experimental apparatus using a granular bed of glass of 2 mm diameter. Furthermore, our experimental results demonstrated the existence of a threshold in the acoustic intensity above which the collection efficiency of the granular bed increased rapidly. We also demonstrated a semi-empirical law relating acoustic capture efficiency of a spherical collector to frequency and acoustic intensity [fr

  17. Energy efficiency: from principles to reality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baudry, Paul; Ballot-Miguel, Benedicte; Binet, Guillaume; Bordigoni, Mathieu; Decellas, Fabrice; Hauser, Chantal; Hita, Laurent; Laurent, Marie-Helene; Osso, Dominique; Peureux, Jean-Louis; Pham Van Cang, Christian

    2015-01-01

    This collective publication proposes a comprehensive overview of issues related to energy efficiency: associated stakes, methods of assessment of energy savings and of their costs, methods of action for energy efficiency policies, application in the housing, office building and industry sectors based on energy consumption modes in these different sectors, and main technologies aimed at improving energy efficiency. The first chapter proposes an historical perspective on energy, outlines the crucial role of energy efficiency in today's and tomorrow's contexts, and discusses which are the different levers of action to increase this efficiency. The next chapters address methods of assessment of energy efficiency, identify and discuss the use of different potential sources of energy saving, propose an overview of the various objectives and instruments of policies for energy efficiency, and address the issue of energy efficiency in the housing sector, in the office building sector, and in the industry sector by indicating the current levels of energy consumption, by identifying the various potential sources of energy saving, and by indicating available technologies aimed at improving energy efficiency

  18. Malmquist Productivity Index on Efficiency Layers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Rezai balf ∗

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA, a popular linear programming technique is useful to rate comparatively operational effiency of decision Making Unit (DMU based on the their deterministic inputoutput data. The Malmquist productivity index in DEA, calculable with the distance function, for measurement the productivity change among two variant time period or two variant group in the same time. This index is based on two factor of efficiency change index and a technological change index. In this paper, we operate on the collective Malmquist productivity index, which performs clustering operation DMUs with classification into different levels of efficient frontier, and then we discuss on the relation between Malmquist index on the efficiency layers and their attractiveness and progress

  19. NLO error propagation exercise data collection system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keisch, B.; Bieber, A.M. Jr.

    1983-01-01

    A combined automated and manual system for data collection is described. The system is suitable for collecting, storing, and retrieving data related to nuclear material control at a bulk processing facility. The system, which was applied to the NLO operated Feed Materials Production Center, was successfully demonstrated for a selected portion of the facility. The instrumentation consisted of off-the-shelf commercial equipment and provided timeliness, convenience, and efficiency in providing information for generating a material balance and performing error propagation on a sound statistical basis

  20. Research on data collection key technology of smart electric energy meters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xiangqun; Huang, Rui; Shen, Liman; Chen, Hao; Xiong, Dezhi; Xiao, Xiangqi; Mouhailiu; Renheng, Xu

    2018-02-01

    In recent years, smart electric energy meters are demand at 70 million to 90 million with the strong smart grid construction every year in China. However, there are some issues in smart electric energy meters data collection such as the interference of environment, low collection efficiency and inability to work when the power is off. In order to solve these issues above, it uses the RFID communication technology to collect the numbers and electric energy information of smart electric energy meters on the basis of the existing smart electric energy meters, and the related data collection communication experiments were made. The experimental result shows that the electric information and other data batch collection of RFID smart electric energy meters are realized in power and power off. It improves the efficiency and the overall success rate is 99.2% within 2 meters. It provides a new method for smart electric energy meters data collection.

  1. Common data elements collected among universities for sport-related concussion studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jingzhen; Peek-Asa, Corinne; Noble, James M; Torner, James; Schmidt, Paul; Cooper, Martha L

    2018-02-12

    Universities are increasingly implementing programs to effectively respond to and manage sport-related concussions (SRCs). One such effort is to develop common data elements (CDEs) and standardize data collection methods. The objectives of this study were to describe CDEs currently collected by Big Ten and Ivy League universities for SRC studies, and to compare the data collected with the core CDEs recommended by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). We conducted an anonymous cross-sectional online survey among medical staff at the 14 Big Ten and 8 Ivy League universities (one per university) between September and October 2015. The survey instrument, including 9 questions corresponding to the concussion data collected before, during, and after a concussion, was developed and pilot-tested before field use. We analyzed patterns of the concussion CDEs being collected, including when, what, and how the data were collected and stored, and compared them with the NINDS' recommended core CDEs. A total of 19 out of 22 universities were included, with 13 from Big Ten and 6 from Ivy-League universities. All 19 participating universities currently collected concussion data with athletes before, during, and after a concussion. Great similarities in data collection were observed at baseline and acutely post-concussion across participating universities. All 19 universities collected at least one of the ten recommended acute symptoms checklists, and 18 universities collected one of the four recommended core neuropsychological function cognitive measures. However, CDEs in the sub-acute and chronic timeframes were limited, with only 9 (47%) universities collecting post-concussion short to long term outcome data. While over 60% of universities collected and stored concussion data electronically, only 17% to 42% of data collected were readily available for research. Significant inter-institutional similarities in acute concussion CDEs were found. Further

  2. MO-FG-202-03: Efficient Data Collection of Continuous 2D and Discrete Relative Dosimetric Data for Annual LINAC QA Using TrueBeam Developer Mode and a 1D Scanning Tank

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knutson, N; Schmidt, M [Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI (United States); University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI (United States); University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA (United States); Nguyen, N [Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI (United States); University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA (United States); Belley, M [Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI (United States); University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI (United States); Price, M [Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI (United States); University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI (United States); Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: To develop a method to exploit real-time dynamic machine and couch parameter control during linear accelerator (LINAC) beam delivery to facilitate efficient performance of TG-142 suggested, Annual LINAC QA tests. Methods: Varian’s TrueBeam Developer Mode (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) facilitates control of Varian’s TrueBeam LINAC via instructions provided in Extensible Markup Language (XML) files. This allows machine and couch parameters to be varied dynamically, in real-time, during beam delivery. Custom XML files were created to allow for the collection of (1) continuous Tissue Maximum Ratios (TMRs), (2) beam profiles, and (3) continuous output factors using a 1D-scanning tank. TMRs were acquired by orienting an ionization chamber (IC) at isocenter (depth=25cm) and synchronizing a depth scan towards the water surface while lowering the couch at 1mm/s. For beam profiles, the couch was driven laterally and longitudinally while logging IC electrometer readings. Output factors (OFs) where collected by continually varying field sizes (4×4 to 30×30-cm{sup 2}) at a constant speed of 6.66 mm/s. To validate measurements, comparisons were made to data collected using traditional methods (e.g. 1D or 3D tank). Results: All data collecting using the proposed methods agreed with traditionally collected data (TMRs within 1%, OFs within 0.5% and beam profile agreement within 1% / 1mm) while taking less time to collect (factor of approximately 1/10) and with a finer sample resolution. Conclusion: TrueBeam developer mode facilitates collection of continuous data with the same accuracy as traditionally collected data with a finer resolution in less time. Results demonstrate an order of magnitude increase in sampled resolution and an order of magnitude reduction in collection time compared to traditional acquisition methods (e.g. 3D scanning tank). We are currently extending this approach to perform other TG-142 tasks.

  3. Informational and linguistic analysis of large genomic sequence collections via efficient Hadoop cluster algorithms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferraro Petrillo, Umberto; Roscigno, Gianluca; Cattaneo, Giuseppe; Giancarlo, Raffaele

    2018-06-01

    Information theoretic and compositional/linguistic analysis of genomes have a central role in bioinformatics, even more so since the associated methodologies are becoming very valuable also for epigenomic and meta-genomic studies. The kernel of those methods is based on the collection of k-mer statistics, i.e. how many times each k-mer in {A,C,G,T}k occurs in a DNA sequence. Although this problem is computationally very simple and efficiently solvable on a conventional computer, the sheer amount of data available now in applications demands to resort to parallel and distributed computing. Indeed, those type of algorithms have been developed to collect k-mer statistics in the realm of genome assembly. However, they are so specialized to this domain that they do not extend easily to the computation of informational and linguistic indices, concurrently on sets of genomes. Following the well-established approach in many disciplines, and with a growing success also in bioinformatics, to resort to MapReduce and Hadoop to deal with 'Big Data' problems, we present KCH, the first set of MapReduce algorithms able to perform concurrently informational and linguistic analysis of large collections of genomic sequences on a Hadoop cluster. The benchmarking of KCH that we provide indicates that it is quite effective and versatile. It is also competitive with respect to the parallel and distributed algorithms highly specialized to k-mer statistics collection for genome assembly problems. In conclusion, KCH is a much needed addition to the growing number of algorithms and tools that use MapReduce for bioinformatics core applications. The software, including instructions for running it over Amazon AWS, as well as the datasets are available at http://www.di-srv.unisa.it/KCH. umberto.ferraro@uniroma1.it. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  4. 77 FR 65702 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, Form Number I-730...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-30

    ...-0037] Agency Information Collection Activities: Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, Form Number I-730... request. (2) Title of the Form/Collection: Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition. (3) Agency form number, if... households. Form I- 730 will be used by an asylee or refugee to file on behalf of his or her spouse and/or...

  5. Evaluating the Environmental Dimension of Material Efficiency Strategies Relating to the Circular Economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stuart Walker

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Material efficiency is a key element of new thinking to address the challenges of reducing impacts on the environment and of resource scarcity, whilst at the same time meeting service and functionality demands on materials. Directly related to material efficiency is the concept of the Circular Economy, which is based on the principle of optimising the utility embodied in materials and products through the life-cycle. Although materials such as steel, on account of high recycling rates at end-of-life, are amongst the most ‘circular’ of manufactured materials, significant opportunities for greater material efficiency exist, which are yet to be widely implemented. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA is commonly used to assess the environmental benefits of recovering and recycling materials through the manufacturing supply chain and at end-of-life. Using an example taken from renewable energy generation, this paper explores the correlation between product circularity and the environmental case for strategies designed to improve material efficiency. An LCA-based methodology for accounting for the recovery and reuse of materials from the supply chain and at end-of-life is used as the basis for calculating the carbon footprint benefits of five material efficiency scenarios. The results are compared with a number of proposed material circularity indicators. Two conclusions from this exercise are that (i LCA methodologies based around end-of-life approaches are well placed for quantifying the environmental benefits of material efficiency and circular economy strategies and (ii when applying indicators relating to the circularity of materials these should also be supported by LCA-based studies.

  6. An Efficient Inductive Genetic Learning Algorithm for Fuzzy Relational Rules

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Fuzzy modelling research has traditionally focused on certain types of fuzzy rules. However, the use of alternative rule models could improve the ability of fuzzy systems to represent a specific problem. In this proposal, an extended fuzzy rule model, that can include relations between variables in the antecedent of rules is presented. Furthermore, a learning algorithm based on the iterative genetic approach which is able to represent the knowledge using this model is proposed as well. On the other hand, potential relations among initial variables imply an exponential growth in the feasible rule search space. Consequently, two filters for detecting relevant potential relations are added to the learning algorithm. These filters allows to decrease the search space complexity and increase the algorithm efficiency. Finally, we also present an experimental study to demonstrate the benefits of using fuzzy relational rules.

  7. Relative efficiency within a tax administration: The effects of result improvement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Villar Rubio

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyses the Spanish tax administration, evaluating the relative efficiency of each of the regional offices that are its constituent parts via output-oriented two-stage data envelopment analysis. In the study, a total of 47 regional offices were analysed, considering three inputs: 1 current expenditure in goods and services; 2 number of tax returns processed in terms of the two main direct taxes; and, 3 personnel numbers. Revenue resulting from tax assessments was considered as output. The analysis shows that the efficient action of regional offices might have increased by 21.6% the results of the management of this administration.

  8. The Development of Digital Collections and Resources Organization Related Projects in Taiwan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsueh-Hua Chen

    2001-12-01

    Full Text Available With the development of Internet, digital libraries/museums have received worldwide attention and many developed countries are doing extensive researches on digital libraries/museums. In Taiwan, many institutions have digitized their rare collections. This paper introduces the recent development of digital projects in Taiwan, including: Digital Museum Project, National Digital Collection Project and National Culture Database Project, and also especially introduces some resources organization related projects. [Article content in Chinese

  9. Charge collection efficiency recovery in heavily irradiated silicon detectors operated at cryogenic temperatures

    CERN Document Server

    Da Vià, C; Berglund, P; Borchi, E; Borer, K; Bruzzi, Mara; Buontempo, S; Casagrande, L; Chapuy, S; Cindro, V; Dimcovski, Zlatomir; D'Ambrosio, N; de Boer, Wim; Dezillie, B; Esposito, A P; Granat, V; Grigoriev, E; Heijne, Erik H M; Heising, S; Janos, S; Koivuniemi, J H; Konotov, I; Li, Z; Lourenço, C; Mikuz, M; Niinikoski, T O; Pagano, S; Palmieri, V G; Paul, S; Pirollo, S; Pretzl, Klaus P; Ropotar, I; Ruggiero, G; Salmi, J; Seppä, H; Suni, I; Smith, K; Sonderegger, P; Valtonen, M J; Zavrtanik, M

    1998-01-01

    The charge collection efficiency (CCE) of high resistivity silicon detectors, previously neutron irradiated up to 2*10/sup 15/ n/cm/sup 2/, was measured at different cryogenic temperatures and different bias voltages. In order to $9 study reverse annealing (RA) effects, a few samples were heated to 80 degrees C and kept at room temperature for several months after irradiation. For comparison other samples (NRA) where kept at -10 C after irradiation. The RA and $9 NRA samples, measured at 250 V forward and reverse bias voltage, present a common temperature threshold at 150 K. Below 120 K the CCE is constant and ranges between 55and 65 0.000000or the RA and NRA sample respectively. Similar CCE $9 was measured for a device processed with low resistivity contacts (OHMIC), opening the prospect for a consistent reduction of the cost of large area particle tracking. (7 refs).

  10. Learning efficient correlated equilibria

    KAUST Repository

    Borowski, Holly P.

    2014-12-15

    The majority of distributed learning literature focuses on convergence to Nash equilibria. Correlated equilibria, on the other hand, can often characterize more efficient collective behavior than even the best Nash equilibrium. However, there are no existing distributed learning algorithms that converge to specific correlated equilibria. In this paper, we provide one such algorithm which guarantees that the agents\\' collective joint strategy will constitute an efficient correlated equilibrium with high probability. The key to attaining efficient correlated behavior through distributed learning involves incorporating a common random signal into the learning environment.

  11. Learning efficient correlated equilibria

    KAUST Repository

    Borowski, Holly P.; Marden, Jason R.; Shamma, Jeff S.

    2014-01-01

    The majority of distributed learning literature focuses on convergence to Nash equilibria. Correlated equilibria, on the other hand, can often characterize more efficient collective behavior than even the best Nash equilibrium. However, there are no existing distributed learning algorithms that converge to specific correlated equilibria. In this paper, we provide one such algorithm which guarantees that the agents' collective joint strategy will constitute an efficient correlated equilibrium with high probability. The key to attaining efficient correlated behavior through distributed learning involves incorporating a common random signal into the learning environment.

  12. Radiation hardness and charge collection efficiency of lithium irradiated thin silicon diodes

    CERN Document Server

    Boscardin, Maurizio; Bruzzi, Mara; Candelori, Andrea; Focardi, Ettore; Khomenkov, Volodymyr P; Piemonte, Claudio; Ronchin, S; Tosi, C; Zorzi, N

    2005-01-01

    Due to their low depletion voltage, even after high particle fluences, improved tracking precision and momentum resolution, and reduced material budget, thin substrates are one of the possible choices to provide radiation hard detectors for future high energy physics experiments. In the framework of the CERN RD50 Collaboration, we have developed PIN diode detectors on membranes obtained by locally thinning the silicon substrate by means of TMAH etching from the wafer backside. Diodes of different shapes and sizes have been fabricated on 50- mu m and 100- mu m thick membranes and tested, showing a low leakage current (of 300 nA/cm/sup 3/) and a very low depletion voltage (in the order of 1 V for the 50 mu m membrane) before irradiation. Radiation damage tests have been performed with 58 MeV lithium (Li) ions up to the fluence of 10/sup 14/ Li/cm/sup 2/ in order to determine the depletion voltage and leakage current density increase after irradiation. Charge collection efficiency tests carried out with a beta /...

  13. An effective method of collecting practical knowledge by presentation of videos and related words

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satoshi Shimada

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The concentration of practical knowledge and experiential knowledge in the form of collective intelligence (the wisdom of the crowd is of interest in the area of skill transfer. Previous studies have confirmed that collective intelligence can be formed through the utilization of video annotation systems where knowledge that is recalled while watching videos of work tasks can be assigned in the form of a comment. The knowledge that can be collected is limited, however, to the content that can be depicted in videos, meaning that it is necessary to prepare many videos when collecting knowledge. This paper proposes a method for expanding the scope of recall from the same video through the automatic generation and simultaneous display of related words and video scenes. Further, the validity of the proposed method is empirically illustrated through the example of a field experiment related to mountaineering skills.

  14. The Efficiency of Infants' Exploratory Play Is Related to Longer-Term Cognitive Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muentener, Paul; Herrig, Elise; Schulz, Laura

    2018-01-01

    In this longitudinal study we examined the stability of exploratory play in infancy and its relation to cognitive development in early childhood. We assessed infants' (N = 130, mean age at enrollment = 12.02 months, SD = 3.5 months; range: 5–19 months) exploratory play four times over 9 months. Exploratory play was indexed by infants' attention to novelty, inductive generalizations, efficiency of exploration, face preferences, and imitative learning. We assessed cognitive development at the fourth visit for the full sample, and again at age three for a subset of the sample (n = 38). The only measure that was stable over infancy was the efficiency of exploration. Additionally, infants' efficiency score predicted vocabulary size and distinguished at-risk infants recruited from early intervention sites from those not at risk. Follow-up analyses at age three provided additional evidence for the importance of the efficiency measure: more efficient exploration was correlated with higher IQ scores. These results suggest that the efficiency of infants' exploratory play can be informative about longer-term cognitive development. PMID:29904360

  15. 48 CFR 952.223 - Clauses related to environment, energy and water efficiency, renewable energy technologies...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... environment, energy and water efficiency, renewable energy technologies, occupational safety, and drug-free workplace. 952.223 Section 952.223 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CLAUSES AND... related to environment, energy and water efficiency, renewable energy technologies, occupational safety...

  16. Energy-Efficient Data Collection Method for Sensor Networks by Integrating Asymmetric Communication and Wake-Up Radio

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masanari Iwata

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In large-scale wireless sensor networks (WSNs, nodes close to sink nodes consume energy more quickly than other nodes due to packet forwarding. A mobile sink is a good solution to this issue, although it causes two new problems to nodes: (i overhead of updating routing information; and (ii increased operating time due to aperiodic query. To solve these problems, this paper proposes an energy-efficient data collection method, Sink-based Centralized transmission Scheduling (SC-Sched, by integrating asymmetric communication and wake-up radio. Specifically, each node is equipped with a low-power wake-up receiver. The sink node determines transmission scheduling, and transmits a wake-up message using a large transmission power, directly activating a pair of nodes simultaneously which will communicate with a normal transmission power. This paper further investigates how to deal with frame loss caused by fading and how to mitigate the impact of the wake-up latency of communication modules. Simulation evaluations confirm that using multiple channels effectively reduces data collection time and SC-Sched works well with a mobile sink. Compared with the conventional duty-cycling method, SC-Sched greatly reduces total energy consumption and improves the network lifetime by 7.47 times in a WSN with 4 data collection points and 300 sensor nodes.

  17. Relation of managerial efficiency and leadership styles – Empirical study in Hrvatska elektroprivreda d.d.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Damir Skansi

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available The relation of the managerial efficiency and leadership styles are analysed in this paper. We conducted an empirical study in a Croatian power supply company (HEP. The dominant leadership style in HEP is consultational, which the organization, according to postulates of this research, brings closer to the top global companies, considering that the tendencies in leadership styles point to the need for a new generation of leaders which will be essentially different from the traditional manager. We have determined that there is a significant interdependence between leadership styles of HEP’s managers (measured using Likert’s method and the degree of management work efficiency (measured using the adjusted Mott’s technique; the closer the leadership style is to System 4, that is participational, the higher the managerial efficiency is. Also, we have found that there is no significant difference between lower and middle management in HEP, concerning the relation between leadership styles and efficiency. This means that both levels get better grades for its efficiency if they belong to a consultational and participational leadership style.

  18. Energy efficiency of substance and energy recovery of selected waste fractions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fricke, Klaus; Bahr, Tobias; Bidlingmaier, Werner; Springer, Christian

    2011-01-01

    In order to reduce the ecological impact of resource exploitation, the EU calls for sustainable options to increase the efficiency and productivity of the utilization of natural resources. This target can only be achieved by considering resource recovery from waste comprehensively. However, waste management measures have to be investigated critically and all aspects of substance-related recycling and energy recovery have to be carefully balanced. This article compares recovery methods for selected waste fractions with regard to their energy efficiency. Whether material recycling or energy recovery is the most energy efficient solution, is a question of particular relevance with regard to the following waste fractions: paper and cardboard, plastics and biowaste and also indirectly metals. For the described material categories material recycling has advantages compared to energy recovery. In accordance with the improved energy efficiency of substance opposed to energy recovery, substance-related recycling causes lower emissions of green house gases. For the fractions paper and cardboard, plastics, biowaste and metals it becomes apparent, that intensification of the separate collection systems in combination with a more intensive use of sorting technologies can increase the extent of material recycling. Collection and sorting systems must be coordinated. The objective of the overall system must be to achieve an optimum of the highest possible recovery rates in combination with a high quality of recyclables. The energy efficiency of substance related recycling of biowaste can be increased by intensifying the use of anaerobic technologies. In order to increase the energy efficiency of the overall system, the energy efficiencies of energy recovery plants must be increased so that the waste unsuitable for substance recycling is recycled or treated with the highest possible energy yield.

  19. Instrument to collect fogwater for chemical analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Jacob, Daniel J.; Waldman, Jed M.; Haghi, Mehrdad; Hoffmann, Michael R.; Flagan, Richard C.

    1985-01-01

    An instrument is presented which collects large samples of ambient fogwater by impaction of droplets on a screen. The collection efficiency of the instrument is determined as a function of droplet size, and it is shown that fog droplets in the range 3–100-µm diameter are efficiently collected. No significant evaporation or condensation occurs at any stage of the collection process. Field testing indicates that samples collected are representative of the ambient fogwater. The instrument may ea...

  20. A guide to archival collections relating to radioactive fallout from nuclear weapon testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, B.W.

    1992-09-01

    This ninth edition of A Guide to Archival Collections Relating to Radioactive Fallout from Nuclear Weapon Testing constitutes History Associates Incorporated's (HAI) final report of its document collection, processing, and declassification efforts for the Nevada Field Office of the Department of Energy. The most significant feature of this edition is the updated HAI collection effort information. We confirmed the accuracy of this information using our screening, processing, and transmittal records. Unlike previous editions, funding limitations prevented us from systematically revising the collection descriptions and point-of-contact information for this final edition. This guide has been prepared by professional historians who have a working knowledge of many of the record collections included in the following pages. In describing materials, they have tried to include enough information so that persons unfamiliar with the complexities of large record systems will be able to determine that nature of the information in, and the quality of, each record collection

  1. Optimization of the electron collection efficiency of a large area MCP-PMT for the JUNO experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Lin; Tian, Jinshou; Liu, Chunliang; Wang, Yifang; Zhao, Tianchi; Liu, Hulin; Wei, Yonglin; Sai, Xiaofeng; Chen, Ping; Wang, Xing; Lu, Yu; Hui, Dandan; Guo, Lehui; Liu, Shulin; Qian, Sen; Xia, Jingkai; Yan, Baojun; Zhu, Na; Sun, Jianning; Si, Shuguang

    2016-01-01

    A novel large-area (20-inch) photomultiplier tube based on microchannel plate (MCP-PMTs) is proposed for the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) experiment. Its photoelectron collection efficiency C e is limited by the MCP open area fraction (A open ). This efficiency is studied as a function of the angular (θ), energy (E) distributions of electrons in the input charge cloud and the potential difference (U) between the PMT photocathode and the MCP input surface, considering secondary electron emission from the MCP input electrode. In CST Studio Suite, Finite Integral Technique and Monte Carlo method are combined to investigate the dependence of C e on θ, E and U. Results predict that C e can exceed A open , and are applied to optimize the structure and operational parameters of the 20-inch MCP-PMT prototype. C e of the optimized MCP-PMT is expected to reach 81.2%. Finally, the reduction of the penetration depth of the MCP input electrode layer and the deposition of a high secondary electron yield material on the MCP are proposed to further optimize C e .

  2. Drought effect on weaning weight and efficiency relative to cow size in semiarid rangeland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scasta, J D; Henderson, L; Smith, T

    2015-12-01

    Cow size has been suggested to be an important consideration for selecting cattle to match their production environment. Over the last several decades, the trend in genetic selection for maximum growth has led to gradual increases in beef cow size. An unrelated trend during this same period in the western United States has been an increase in temperature, drought frequency, and drought severity. Due to the potential influence of the increasing cow size trend on nutritional maintenance costs and production, we assessed the effect of cow size on weaning weight and efficiency in relation to drought on a semiarid high-elevation ranch in Wyoming. This study addresses a lack of empirical studies on the interaction between cow size and drought. We measured calf weaning weights of 80 Angus × Gelbvieh cows from 2011 to 2014 and assessed how drought affected weaning weights, efficiency (considered as calf weight relative to cow weight), intake requirements, and potential herd sizes relative to cow size. We stratified cows into 5 weight classes (453, 498, 544, 589, and 634 kg) as a proxy for cow size and adjusted weaning weights to a 210-d calf sex adjusted value. Cow size was a significant factor every year, with different cow sizes having advantages or disadvantages different years relative to weaning weight. However, efficiency for the smallest cows (453 kg) was always greater than efficiency for largest cows (634 kg; cows was greater in the driest year (0.41 ± 0.02) than efficiency of the largest cows in the wettest years (0.37 ± 0.01). The change in efficiency (ΔE) between wet and dry years was 0.18 for the smallest cow size and 0.02 for the largest cow size, and ΔE decreased as cow size increased. This is an indication of the ability of smaller cows to lower maintenance requirements in response to changes in the production environment but with optimal upside potential when conditions are favorable. These results indicate large cows (589 to 634 kg) do not maximize

  3. Thumbnail‐based questionnaires for the rapid and efficient collection of macroseismic data from global earthquakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bossu, Remy; Landes, Matthieu; Roussel, Frederic; Steed, Robert; Mazet-Roux, Gilles; Martin, Stacey S.; Hough, Susan E.

    2017-01-01

    The collection of earthquake testimonies (i.e., qualitative descriptions of felt shaking) is essential for macroseismic studies (i.e., studies gathering information on how strongly an earthquake was felt in different places), and when done rapidly and systematically, improves situational awareness and in turn can contribute to efficient emergency response. In this study, we present advances made in the collection of testimonies following earthquakes around the world using a thumbnail‐based questionnaire implemented on the European‐Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) smartphone app and its website compatible for mobile devices. In both instances, the questionnaire consists of a selection of thumbnails, each representing an intensity level of the European Macroseismic Scale 1998. We find that testimonies are collected faster, and in larger numbers, by way of thumbnail‐based questionnaires than by more traditional online questionnaires. Responses were received from all seismically active regions of our planet, suggesting that thumbnails overcome language barriers. We also observed that the app is not sufficient on its own, because the websites are the main source of testimonies when an earthquake strikes a region for the first time in a while; it is only for subsequent shocks that the app is widely used. Notably though, the speed of the collection of testimonies increases significantly when the app is used. We find that automated EMSC intensities as assigned by user‐specified thumbnails are, on average, well correlated with “Did You Feel It?” (DYFI) responses and with the three independently and manually derived macroseismic datasets, but there is a tendency for EMSC to be biased low with respect to DYFI at moderate and large intensities. We address this by proposing a simple adjustment that will be verified in future earthquakes.

  4. Energy Efficiency Finance Programs: Use Case Analysis to Define Data Needs and Guidelines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thompson, Peter [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Larsen, Peter [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Kramer, Chris [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Goldman, Charles [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2014-07-01

    There are over 200 energy efficiency loan programs—across 49 U.S. states—administered by utilities, state/local government agencies, or private lenders.1 This distributed model has led to significant variation in program design and implementation practices including how data is collected and used. The challenge of consolidating and aggregating data across independently administered programs has been illustrated by a recent pilot of an open source database for energy efficiency financing program data. This project was led by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the Investor Confidence Project, the Clean Energy Finance Center (CEFC), and the University of Chicago. This partnership discussed data collection practices with a number of existing energy efficiency loan programs and identified four programs that were suitable and willing to participate in the pilot database (Diamond 2014).2 The partnership collected information related to ~12,000 loans with an aggregate value of ~$100M across the four programs. Of the 95 data fields collected across the four programs, 30 fields were common between two or more programs and only seven data fields were common across all programs. The results of that pilot study illustrate the inconsistencies in current data definition and collection practices among energy efficiency finance programs and may contribute to certain barriers.

  5. Modeling of venturi scrubber efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowder, Jerry W.; Noll, Kenneth E.; Davis, Wayne T.

    The parameters affecting venturi scrubber performance have been rationally examined and modifications to the current modeling theory have been developed. The modified model has been validated with available experimental data for a range of throat gas velocities, liquid-to-gas ratios and particle diameters and is used to study the effect of some design parameters on collection efficiency. Most striking among the observations is the prediction of a new design parameter termed the minimum contactor length. Also noted is the prediction of little effect on collection efficiency with increasing liquid-to-gas ratio above about 2ℓ m-3. Indeed, for some cases a decrease in collection efficiency is predicted for liquid rates above this value.

  6. Particle Size Distribution of E-Cigarette Aerosols and the Relationship to Cambridge Filter Pad Collection Efficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alderman Steven L.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The relatively volatile nature of the particulate matter fraction of e-cigarette aerosols presents an experimental challenge with regard to particle size distribution measure-ments. This is particularly true for instruments requiring a high degree of aerosol dilution. This was illustrated in a previous study, where average particle diameters in the 10-50 nm range were determined by a high-dilution, electrical mobility method. Total particulate matter (TPM masses calculated based on those diameters were orders of magnitude smaller than gravimetrically determined TPM. This discrepancy was believed to result from almost complete particle evaporation at the dilution levels of the electrical mobility analysis. The same study described a spectral transmission measurement of e-cigarette particle size in an undiluted state, and reported particles from 210-380 nm count median diameter. Observed particle number concentrations were in the 109 particles/cm3 range. Additional particle size measurements described here also found e-cigarette particle size to be in the 260-320 nm count median diameter range. Cambridge filter pads have been used for decades to determine TPM yields of tobacco burning cigarettes, and collection of e-cigarette TPM by fibrous filters is predicted to be a highly efficient process over a wide range of filtration flow rates. The results presented in this work provide support for this hypothesis.

  7. Transfer Efficiency of Bacteria and Viruses from Porous and Nonporous Fomites to Fingers under Different Relative Humidity Conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerba, Charles P.; Tamimi, Akrum H.; Kitajima, Masaaki; Maxwell, Sheri L.; Rose, Joan B.

    2013-01-01

    Fomites can serve as routes of transmission for both enteric and respiratory pathogens. The present study examined the effect of low and high relative humidity on fomite-to-finger transfer efficiency of five model organisms from several common inanimate surfaces (fomites). Nine fomites representing porous and nonporous surfaces of different compositions were studied. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus thuringiensis, MS2 coliphage, and poliovirus 1 were placed on fomites in 10-μl drops and allowed to dry for 30 min under low (15% to 32%) or high (40% to 65%) relative humidity. Fomite-to-finger transfers were performed using 1.0 kg/cm2 of pressure for 10 s. Transfer efficiencies were greater under high relative humidity for both porous and nonporous surfaces. Most organisms on average had greater transfer efficiencies under high relative humidity than under low relative humidity. Nonporous surfaces had a greater transfer efficiency (up to 57%) than porous surfaces (humidity, as well as under high relative humidity (nonporous, up to 79.5%; porous, <13.4%). Transfer efficiency also varied with fomite material and organism type. The data generated can be used in quantitative microbial risk assessment models to assess the risk of infection from fomite-transmitted human pathogens and the relative levels of exposure to different types of fomites and microorganisms. PMID:23851098

  8. The relative efficiency of Iranian's rural traffic police: a three-stage DEA model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahimi, Habibollah; Soori, Hamid; Nazari, Seyed Saeed Hashemi; Motevalian, Seyed Abbas; Azar, Adel; Momeni, Eskandar; Javartani, Mehdi

    2017-10-13

    Road traffic Injuries (RTIs) as a health problem imposes governments to implement different interventions. Target achievement in this issue required effective and efficient measures. Efficiency evaluation of traffic police as one of the responsible administrators is necessary for resource management. Therefore, this study conducted to measure Iran's rural traffic police efficiency. This was an ecological study. To obtain pure efficiency score, three-stage DEA model was conducted with seven inputs and three output variables. At the first stage, crude efficiency score was measured with BCC-O model. Next, to extract the effects of socioeconomic, demographic, traffic count and road infrastructure as the environmental variables and statistical noise, the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) model was applied and the output values were modified according to similar environment and statistical noise conditions. Then, the pure efficiency score was measured using modified outputs and BCC-O model. In total, the efficiency score of 198 police stations from 24 provinces of 31 provinces were measured. The annual means (standard deviation) of damage, injury and fatal accidents were 247.7 (258.4), 184.9 (176.9), and 28.7 (19.5), respectively. Input averages were 5.9 (3.0) patrol teams, 0.5% (0.2) manpower proportions, 7.5 (2.9) patrol cars, 0.5 (1.3) motorcycles, 77,279.1 (46,794.7) penalties, 90.9 (2.8) cultural and educational activity score, 0.7 (2.4) speed cameras. The SFA model showed non-significant differences between police station performances and the most differences attributed to the environmental and random error. One-way main road, by road, traffic count and the number of household owning motorcycle had significant positive relations with inefficiency score. The length of freeway/highway and literacy rate variables had negative relations, significantly. Pure efficiency score was with mean of 0.95 and SD of 0.09. Iran's traffic police has potential opportunity to reduce

  9. On criteria for algebraic independence of collections of functions satisfying algebraic difference relations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroshi Ogawara

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper gives conditions for algebraic independence of a collection of functions satisfying a certain kind of algebraic difference relations. As applications, we show algebraic independence of two collections of special functions: (1 Vignéras' multiple gamma functions and derivatives of the gamma function, (2 the logarithmic function, \\(q\\-exponential functions and \\(q\\-polylogarithm functions. In a similar way, we give a generalization of Ostrowski's theorem.

  10. Agronomic Characteristics Related to Grain Yield and Nutrient Use Efficiency for Wheat Production in China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Limin Chuan

    Full Text Available In order to make clear the recent status and trend of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. production in China, datasets from multiple field experiments and published literature were collected to study the agronomic characteristics related to grain yield, fertilizer application and nutrient use efficiency from the year 2000 to 2011. The results showed that the mean grain yield of wheat in 2000-2011 was 5950 kg/ha, while the N, P2O5 and K2O application rates were 172, 102 and 91 kg/ha on average, respectively. The decrease in N and P2O5 and increase in K2O balanced the nutrient supply and was the main reason for yield increase. The partial factor productivity (PFP, kg grain yield produced per unit of N, P2O5 or K2O applied values of N (PFP-N, P (PFP-P and K (PFP-K were in the ranges of 29.5~39.6, 43.4~74.9 and 44.1~76.5 kg/kg, respectively. While PFP-N showed no significant changes from 2000 to 2010, both PFP-P and PFP-K showed an increased trend over this period. The mean agronomic efficiency (AE, kg grain yield increased per unit of N, P2O5 or K2O applied values of N (AEN, P (AEP and K (AEK were 9.4, 10.2 and 6.5 kg/kg, respectively. The AE values demonstrated marked inter-annual fluctuations, with the amplitude of fluctuation for AEN greater than those for AEP and AEK. The mean fertilizer recovery efficiency (RE, the fraction of nutrient uptake in aboveground plant dry matter to the nutrient of fertilizer application values of N, P and K in the aboveground biomass were 33.1%, 24.3% and 28.4%, respectively. It was also revealed that different wheat ecological regions differ greatly in wheat productivity, fertilizer application and nutrient use efficiency. In summary, it was suggested that best nutrient management practices, i.e. fertilizer recommendation applied based on soil testing or yield response, with strategies to match the nutrient input with realistic yield and demand, or provided with the 4R's nutrient management (right time, right rate, right

  11. Fuel-related Emissions from the Croatian Municipal Solid Waste Collection System in 2013: Mixed Municipal Waste

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anamarija Grbeš

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Waste removal (collection and landfilling in the Republic of Croatia is the responsibility of the municipalities and local governments in 21 administrative units (counties. They entrust the respective economic activity to 208 private and public companies specialized in waste collection and treatment. Organised waste collection affects 99 % of the population. The mixed waste from households and enterprises is at various frequencies collected at the door (kerbside collection and transported by truck to a landfill, or processing plant. This article aims to estimate fuel consumption and fuel-related airborne emissions from the collection of mixed municipal waste in Croatia in 2013. The input data and emission results are shown for Croatia and each Croatian county, in total, and relative to the number of inhabitants and mass of collected waste. Annual consumption of diesel for the collection of mixed waste is estimated at 10.6 million litres. At the county level, fuel consumption ranges from 87 thousand litres to 2.2 million litres, on average 504 thousand litres per county. Total emission of CO2 is estimated at 28 000 t, which at county level ranges from 231 to 5711 t. Relative emission ranges from 3.3 to 13 kg CO2 per capita (average 6.6 kg per capita, or 8.6–28.1 kg t−1 of municipal waste (average 17 kg CO2 per ton of municipal waste. The average values of CO2 emission from MSW collection that should also be the target values are 7–9 kg for mixed waste, and 8–15 kg CO2 for separate waste streams. Apart from CO2 emission, this research estimates emission of other, diesel combustion related compounds, such as NOx, CO, lubricant related CO2, NMVOC, PM, f-BC, N2O, SO2, NH3, Pb, ID[1,2,3-cd]P, B[k]F, B[b]F, B[a]P, as well as total distance of transport.

  12. 75 FR 62363 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Bees and Related Articles

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-08

    ...] Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Bees and Related Articles... an information collection associated with regulations for the importation of bees and related... INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on regulations for the importation of bees and related articles, contact...

  13. The relation between energy efficiency and other general objectives from a socioeconomic perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ankarhem, Mattias; Braennlund, Runar

    2006-09-01

    An important question in the analysis of energy efficiency programs and their consequences is: How are objectives and instruments defined? E.g. if the objective is reduced carbon dioxide emissions and energy efficiency is the means to reach the objective, then it is not certain that increased energy efficiency will give the result as expected (1). Furthermore, energy efficiency measures will probably be an inefficient way of reaching the goal (2). (1) due to the rebound effects, and (2) since the measures are applied indiscriminately, energy use with only weak couplings to the objective are also affected. Energy efficiency is a partial and relative measure, and does not give much information studied in isolation. It should rather be studied from the perspective of total resource efficiency. Economic policy ought to have the goal of securing a socioeconomic exploitation of all resources (of which energy is one). An instrument working in this direction is internalizing of external effects e.g. through environmental taxes, so that the prices reflect the socioeconomic costs for using the resources. Early foreign studies indicates that a rebound effect exists, usually, however, the technological efficiency potentials can be realized. In a recent study of Swedish conditions, the rebound effect seems to be important. It totally negates the initial effect, at in the end the emissions have increased compared to the starting point. The results show the energy efficiency measures can be in direct conflict with climate and other environmental objectives.

  14. Device for collecting chemical compounds and related methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Jill R.; Groenewold, Gary S.; Rae, Catherine

    2013-01-01

    A device for sampling chemical compounds from fixed surfaces and related methods are disclosed. The device may include a vacuum source, a chamber and a sorbent material. The device may utilize vacuum extraction to volatilize the chemical compounds from the fixed surfaces so that they may be sorbed by the sorbent material. The sorbent material may then be analyzed using conventional thermal desorption/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD/GC/MS) instrumentation to determine presence of the chemical compounds. The methods may include detecting release and presence of one or more chemical compounds and determining the efficacy of decontamination. The device may be useful in collection and analysis of a variety of chemical compounds, such as residual chemical warfare agents, chemical attribution signatures and toxic industrial chemicals.

  15. Evaluation of carrier collection probability in bifacial interdigitated-back-contact crystalline silicon solar cells by the internal quantum efficiency mapping method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tachibana, Tomihisa; Tanahashi, Katsuto; Mochizuki, Toshimitsu; Shirasawa, Katsuhiko; Takato, Hidetaka

    2018-04-01

    Bifacial interdigitated-back-contact (IBC) silicon solar cells with a high bifaciality of 0.91 were fabricated. Screen printing and firing technology were used to reduce the production cost. For the first time, the relationship between the rear side structure and carrier collection probability was evaluated using internal quantum efficiency (IQE) mapping. The measurement results showed that the screen-printed electrode and back surface field (BSF) area led to low IQE. The low carrier collection probability by BSF area can be explained by electrical shading effects. Thus, it is clear that the IQE mapping system is useful to evaluate the IBC cell.

  16. Energy efficiency of substance and energy recovery of selected waste fractions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fricke, Klaus; Bahr, Tobias; Bidlingmaier, Werner; Springer, Christian

    2011-04-01

    In order to reduce the ecological impact of resource exploitation, the EU calls for sustainable options to increase the efficiency and productivity of the utilization of natural resources. This target can only be achieved by considering resource recovery from waste comprehensively. However, waste management measures have to be investigated critically and all aspects of substance-related recycling and energy recovery have to be carefully balanced. This article compares recovery methods for selected waste fractions with regard to their energy efficiency. Whether material recycling or energy recovery is the most energy efficient solution, is a question of particular relevance with regard to the following waste fractions: paper and cardboard, plastics and biowaste and also indirectly metals. For the described material categories material recycling has advantages compared to energy recovery. In accordance with the improved energy efficiency of substance opposed to energy recovery, substance-related recycling causes lower emissions of green house gases. For the fractions paper and cardboard, plastics, biowaste and metals it becomes apparent, that intensification of the separate collection systems in combination with a more intensive use of sorting technologies can increase the extent of material recycling. Collection and sorting systems must be coordinated. The objective of the overall system must be to achieve an optimum of the highest possible recovery rates in combination with a high quality of recyclables. The energy efficiency of substance related recycling of biowaste can be increased by intensifying the use of anaerobic technologies. In order to increase the energy efficiency of the overall system, the energy efficiencies of energy recovery plants must be increased so that the waste unsuitable for substance recycling is recycled or treated with the highest possible energy yield. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Is there Need for more Transparency and Efficiency in Cause-related Marketing?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nina Langen

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The popularity of ethical consumption increases. This has motivated firms to increasingly implement Cause-related Marketing (CrM campaigns in Germany. But research reveals that especially German consumers are sceptic with regard to the amount of money spent for the good ‘cause’ by the enterprises. This can be explained by the small share of information provided by CrM campaigns to consumers. In consequence, this can reduce consumers’ willingness to purchase CrM products. Therefore, this study analyses whether the efficiency and transparency of a CrM campaign are important for consumers. The share of money reaching the cause relative to the product price consumers’ pay is taken as a proxy for efficiency while transparency is understood as the open communication of donated amounts on the product by label. A consumer survey conducted in Germany in 2009 reveals that consumers have a great interest in the transparency of a CrM campaign. Furthermore, the study gives evidence that there is a gap between the levels of expected and requested efficiency of CrM donations. Consequently, firms should label the donation amount to meet consumers’ transparency needs. Furthermore, to create a successful CrM campaign companies also have to consider that the amount of money devoted to the good cause is of relevance for consumers.

  18. Charge-collection efficiency of GaAs field effect transistors fabricated with a low temperature grown buffer layer: dependence on charge deposition profile

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McMorrow, D.; Knudson, A.R.; Melinger, J.S.; Buchner, S.

    1999-01-01

    The results presented here reveal a surprising dependence of the charge-collection efficiency of LT GaAs FETs (field effect transistors) on the depth profile of the deposited charge. Investigation of the temporal dependence of the signal amplitude, carrier density contours, and potential contours reveals different mechanisms for charge collection arising from carriers deposited above and below the LT GaAs buffer layer, respectively. In particular, carriers deposited below the LT GaAs buffer layer dissipate slowly and give rise to a persistent charge collection that is associated with a bipolar-like gain process. These results may be of significance in understanding the occurrence of single-event upsets from protons, neutrons, and large-angle, glancing heavy-ion strikes. (authors)

  19. A proposal to improve e-waste collection efficiency in urban mining: Container loading and vehicle routing problems - A case study of Poland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nowakowski, Piotr

    2017-02-01

    Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), also known as e-waste, is one of the most important waste streams with high recycling potential. Materials used in these products are valuable, but some of them are hazardous. The urban mining approach attempts to recycle as many materials as possible, so efficiency in collection is vital. There are two main methods used to collect WEEE: stationary and mobile, each with different variants. The responsibility of WEEE organizations and waste collection companies is to assure all resources required for these activities - bins, containers, collection vehicles and staff - are available, taking into account cost minimization. Therefore, it is necessary to correctly determine the capacity of containers and number of collection vehicles for an area where WEEE need to be collected. There are two main problems encountered in collection, storage and transportation of WEEE: container loading problems and vehicle routing problems. In this study, an adaptation of these two models for packing and collecting WEEE is proposed, along with a practical implementation plan designed to be useful for collection companies' guidelines for container loading and route optimization. The solutions are presented in the case studies of real-world conditions for WEEE collection companies in Poland. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Roughening Conjugated Polymer Surface for Enhancing the Charge Collection Efficiency of Sequentially Deposited Polymer/Fullerene Photovoltaics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoonhee Jang

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available A method that enables the formation of a rough nano-scale surface for conjugated polymers is developed through the utilization of a polymer chain ordering agent (OA. 1-Chloronaphthalene (1-CN is used as the OA for the poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl (P3HT layer. The addition of 1-CN to the P3HT solution improves the chain ordering of the P3HT during the film formation process and increases the surface roughness of the P3HT film compared to the film prepared without 1-CN. The roughened surface of the P3HT film is utilized to construct a P3HT/fullerene bilayer organic photovoltaic (OPV by sequential solution deposition (SqSD without thermal annealing process. The power conversion efficiency (PCE of the SqSD-processed OPV utilizing roughened P3HT layer is 25% higher than that utilizing a plain P3HT layer. It is revealed that the roughened surface of the P3HT increases the heterojunction area at the P3HT/fullerene interface and this resulted in improved internal charge collection efficiency, as well as light absorption efficiency. This method proposes a novel way to improve the PCE of the SqSD-processed OPV, which can be applied for OPV utilizing low band gap polymers. In addition, this method allows for the reassessment of polymers, which have shown insufficient performance in the BSD process.

  1. The Individual and the Collective: Sociological Influences on Lacan's Concept of the Relation Subject—Other

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schrans, David

    2018-01-01

    In this conceptual analysis we discuss the sociological influences on Lacan's conceptualization of the relation between the subject and the other. In his writings predating World War II Lacan defines this relation in terms of identification. However, from 1953 onward he defines it in terms of the subject of speech and the Symbolic Other. It is a popular notion to characterize this change in terms of a radical breach, influenced by the reading of Lévi-Strauss. However, through a close reading of both Lacan's early writings and their Durkheimian influences we will demonstrate that what has changed, is Lacan's conceptualization of the relation between the individual and the collective. This change was gradual rather than sudden. Moreover, it can be situated within the theoretical evolution of the contiguous fields of sociology, anthropology and psychoanalysis. Thus we reject the idea of a breach within his own thought and with what came before him. We will establish our point through a summary of how the relation between the individual and the collective was theorized before Lacan. Durkheim conceptualized this relation as dual: the individual and the collective are radically separated. Mauss attempted to unify the field of anthropology through the holistic concept of the total man. In Lévi-Straus's formalization the individual becomes a function within a structured, Symbolic system. Finally, a reading of Lacan's publications concerning the notion of the logic of the collective will testify to his attempts at formulating a notion of the subject that asserts itself against this collective while at the same time retaining its nature of a logical function. This is the conundrum that Lacan will confront time and again throughout his teachings. Lévi-Strauss merely provided him with the methodological tools of structural anthropology that helped him refine the interrogations that he had already begun. PMID:29867625

  2. The Individual and the Collective: Sociological Influences on Lacan's Concept of the Relation Subject-Other.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schrans, David

    2018-01-01

    In this conceptual analysis we discuss the sociological influences on Lacan's conceptualization of the relation between the subject and the other. In his writings predating World War II Lacan defines this relation in terms of identification. However, from 1953 onward he defines it in terms of the subject of speech and the Symbolic Other. It is a popular notion to characterize this change in terms of a radical breach, influenced by the reading of Lévi-Strauss. However, through a close reading of both Lacan's early writings and their Durkheimian influences we will demonstrate that what has changed, is Lacan's conceptualization of the relation between the individual and the collective. This change was gradual rather than sudden. Moreover, it can be situated within the theoretical evolution of the contiguous fields of sociology, anthropology and psychoanalysis. Thus we reject the idea of a breach within his own thought and with what came before him. We will establish our point through a summary of how the relation between the individual and the collective was theorized before Lacan. Durkheim conceptualized this relation as dual: the individual and the collective are radically separated. Mauss attempted to unify the field of anthropology through the holistic concept of the total man. In Lévi-Straus's formalization the individual becomes a function within a structured, Symbolic system. Finally, a reading of Lacan's publications concerning the notion of the logic of the collective will testify to his attempts at formulating a notion of the subject that asserts itself against this collective while at the same time retaining its nature of a logical function. This is the conundrum that Lacan will confront time and again throughout his teachings. Lévi-Strauss merely provided him with the methodological tools of structural anthropology that helped him refine the interrogations that he had already begun.

  3. Instrument to collect fogwater for chemical analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jacob, D.J.; Waldman, J.M.; Haghi, M.; Hoffmann, M.R.; Flagan, R.C.

    1985-06-01

    An instrument is presented which collects large samples of ambient fogwater by impaction of droplets on a screen. The collection efficiency of the instrument is determined as a function of droplet size, and it is shown that fog droplets in the range 3--100-..mu..m diameter are efficiently collected. No significant evaporation or condensation occurs at any stage of the collection process. Field testing indicates that samples collected are representative of the ambient fogwater. The instrument may easily be automated, and is suitable for use in routine air quality monitoring programs.

  4. Instrument to collect fogwater for chemical analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacob, Daniel J.; Waldman, Jed M.; Haghi, Mehrdad; Hoffmann, Michael R.; Flagan, Richard C.

    1985-06-01

    An instrument is presented which collects large samples of ambient fogwater by impaction of droplets on a screen. The collection efficiency of the instrument is determined as a function of droplet size, and it is shown that fog droplets in the range 3-100-μm diameter are efficiently collected. No significant evaporation or condensation occurs at any stage of the collection process. Field testing indicates that samples collected are representative of the ambient fogwater. The instrument may easily be automated, and is suitable for use in routine air quality monitoring programs.

  5. Nutrient content in macrophyta collected from southern Baltic Sea beaches in relation to eutrophication and biogas production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bucholc, K.; Szymczak-Żyła, M.; Lubecki, L. [Marine Pollution Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Powstańców Warszawy 55, 81-712 Sopot (Poland); Zamojska, A. [University of Gdańsk, Department of Econometrics, ul. Armii Krajowej 101, 81-824 Sopot (Poland); Hapter, P. [Marine Pollution Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Powstańców Warszawy 55, 81-712 Sopot (Poland); Tjernström, E. [Environmental Department, Trelleborg Municipality, Algatan 13, 231 83 Trelleborg (Sweden); Kowalewska, G. [Marine Pollution Laboratory, Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Powstańców Warszawy 55, 81-712 Sopot (Poland)

    2014-03-01

    One of the signs of eutrophication is the excessive growth of opportunistic macroalgae, a worldwide phenomenon also observed in the Baltic Sea. Mats of macroalgae may drift long distances and accumulate at the seashore, considerably decreasing the recreational value of beaches. The matter accumulating at the shore is treated usually as waste. However, it could be used, for example, as a resource for biogas production. The aim of this work was to verify the hypothesis that collecting of macrophyta accumulating on the beach and potential usage of this material for biogas production will decrease nutrient reserves in the sea to counteract eutrophication and the increase in greenhouse effects. Samples of macrophyta were collected in 2011 and 2012 and analysed for their C, N, and P contents, and degree of degradation (% Chl-a in the sum of chloropigments-a); the results were analysed statistically. The nutrient content was studied in macrophyta accumulating on the beach (Sopot, Gulf of Gdańsk, Poland) and for comparison, macrophyta collected from their habitats in less nutrient polluted area (off the Skåre coast, Trelleborg, Sweden). The nutrient content (N, P) in macrophyta depends primarily on their morphology and only secondarily on environmental nutrient pollution. Collecting the macrophyta biomass accumulating on beaches will not significantly change the eutrophication of the Baltic as a whole; any improvements in this respect are likely to be on a local scale only. Collecting macrophyta removes more nitrogen than phosphorous, so this would decrease the N/P ratio in seawater. This macrophyta biomass is a substantial reserve of renewable energy, which could be utilized with the appropriate technology for biomass collection/preservation and biofuel production as an additive to other carbon-rich biomasses. And the biofuel production should be evaluated not only from the standpoint of economic efficiency but also from the environmental point of view. - Highlights:

  6. 78 FR 54660 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Public Comment Request

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-05

    ... efficiency; and improve patient outcomes. In each of these categories, specific indicators were designed to be reported through a performance monitoring Web site. Likely Respondents: Telehealth Network... quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and (4) the use of automated collection...

  7. Evidence for plasma effect on charge collection efficiency in proton irradiated GaAs detectors

    CERN Document Server

    Nava, F; Canali, C; Vittone, E; Polesello, P; Biggeri, U; Leroy, C

    1999-01-01

    The radiation damage in 100 mu m thick Schottky diodes made on semi-insulating undoped GaAs materials, were studied using alpha-, beta-, proton- and gamma-spectroscopy as well as I-V measurements. The results have been analysed within the framework of the Hecht model to investigate the influence of the plasma produced by short-range strongly ionising particles on the detector performance after 24 GeV proton irradiation. It has been found that with the mean free drift lengths for electrons and holes determined from alpha-spectra in overdepleted detectors, the charge collection efficiency for beta-particles, cce subbeta, is well predicted in the unirradiated detectors, while in the most irradiated ones, the cce subbeta is underestimated by more than 40%. The observed disagreement can be explained by assuming that the charge carrier recombination in the plasma region of such detectors, becomes significant.

  8. Efficient removal of perfluorooctane sulfonate from aqueous film-forming foam solution by aeration-foam collection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Pingping; Deng, Shubo; Maimaiti, Ayiguli; Wang, Bin; Huang, Jun; Wang, Yujue; Cousins, Ian T; Yu, Gang

    2018-07-01

    Aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) used in fire-fighting are one of the main contamination sources of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) to the subterranean environment, requiring high costs for remediation. In this study, a method that combined aeration and foam collection was presented to remove PFOS from a commercially available AFFF solution. The method utilized the strong surfactant properties of PFOS that cause it to be highly enriched at air-water interfaces. With an aeration flow rate of 75 mL/min, PFOS removal percent reached 96% after 2 h, and the PFOS concentration in the collected foam was up to 6.5 mmol/L, beneficial for PFOS recovery and reuse. Increasing the aeration flow rate, ionic strength and concentration of co-existing surfactant, as well as decreasing the initial PFOS concentration, increased the removal percents of PFOS by increasing the foam volume, but reduced the enrichment of PFOS in the foams. With the assistance of a co-existing hydrocarbon surfactant, PFOS removal percent was above 99.9% after aeration-foam collection for 2 h and the enrichment factor exceeded 8400. Aeration-foam collection was less effective for short-chain perfluoroalkyl substances due to their relatively lower surface activity. Aeration-foam collection was found to be effective for the removal of high concentrations of PFOS from AFFF-contaminated wastewater, and the concentrated PFOS in the collected foam can be reused. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. A plasma modified cellulose-chitosan porous membrane allows efficient DNA binding and provides antibacterial properties: A step towards developing a new DNA collecting card.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chumwangwapee, Sasiwimon; Chingsungnoen, Artit; Siri, Sineenat

    2016-11-01

    In forensic DNA analyses, biological specimens are collected and stored for subsequent recovery and analysis of DNA. A cost-effective and efficient DNA recovery approach is therefore a need. This study aims to produce a plasma modified cellulose-chitosan membrane (pCE-CS) that efficiently binds and retains DNA as a potential DNA collecting card. The pCE-CS membrane was produced by a phase separation of ionic liquid dissolving CE and CS in water with subsequent surface-modification by a two-step exposure of argon plasma and nitrogen gas. Through plasma modification, the pCE-CS membrane demonstrated better DNA retention after a washing process and higher rate of DNA recovery as compared with the original CE-CS membrane and the commercial FTA card. In addition, the pCE-CS membrane exhibited anti-bacterial properties against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The results of this work suggest a potential function of the pCE-CS membrane as a DNA collecting card with a high recovery rate of captured DNA. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Effects of Engineered Wettability on the Efficiency of Dew Collection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerasopoulos, Konstantinos; Luedeman, William L; Ölçeroglu, Emre; McCarthy, Matthew; Benkoski, Jason J

    2018-01-31

    Surface wettability plays an important role in dew collection. Nucleation is faster on hydrophilic surfaces, while droplets slide more readily on hydrophobic surfaces. Plants and animals in coastal desert environments appear to overcome this trade-off through biphilic surfaces with patterned wettability. In this study, we investigate the effects of millimeter-scale wettability patterns, mimicking those of the Stenocara beetle, on the rate of water collection from humid air. The rate of water collection per unit area is measured as a function of subcooling (ΔT = 1, 7, and 27 °C) and angle of inclination (from 10° to 90°). It is then compared for superbiphilic, hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and surperhydrophobic surfaces. For large subcooling, neither wettability nor tilt angle has a significant effect because the rate of condensation is so great. For 1 °C subcooling and large angles, hydrophilic surfaces perform best because condensation is the rate-limiting step. For low angles of inclination, superhydrophobic samples are best because droplet sliding is the rate-limiting step. Superbiphilic surfaces, in contrast to their superior fog collecting capabilities, generally collected dew at the slowest rate due to their inherent contact angle hysteresis. Theoretical considerations suggest that this finding may apply more generally to surfaces with patterned wettability.

  11. Heating efficiency in magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deatsch, Alison E.; Evans, Benjamin A.

    2014-01-01

    Magnetic nanoparticles for hyperthermic treatment of cancers have gained significant attention in recent years. In magnetic hyperthermia, three independent mechanisms result in thermal energy upon stimulation: Néel relaxation, Brownian relaxation, and hysteresis loss. The relative contribution of each is strongly dependent on size, shape, crystalline anisotropy, and degree of aggregation or agglomeration of the nanoparticles. We review the effects of each of these physical mechanisms in light of recent experimental studies and suggest routes for progress in the field. Particular attention is given to the influence of the collective behaviors of nanoparticles in suspension. A number of recent studies have probed the effect of nanoparticle concentration on heating efficiency and have reported superficially contradictory results. We contextualize these studies and show that they consistently indicate a decrease in magnetic relaxation time with increasing nanoparticle concentration, in both Brownian- and Néel-dominated regimes. This leads to a predictable effect on heating efficiency and alleviates a significant source of confusion within the field. - Highlights: • Magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia. • Heating depends on individual properties and collective properties. • We review recent studies with respect to loss mechanisms. • Collective behavior is a key source of confusion in the field. • We contextualize recent studies to elucidate consistencies and alleviate confusion

  12. Vehicle routing for the eco-efficient collection of household plastic waste

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bing, X.; Keizer, de M.; Bloemhof, J.M.; Vorst, van der J.G.A.J.

    2014-01-01

    Plastic waste is a special category of municipal solid waste. Plastic waste collection is featured with various alternatives of collection methods (curbside/drop-off) and separation methods (source-/post-separation). In the Netherlands, the collection routes of plastic waste are the same as those of

  13. Optimization of the electron collection efficiency of a large area MCP-PMT for the JUNO experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Lin, E-mail: chenlin@opt.cn [State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi’an 710119 (China); Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100049 (China); Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049 (China); Tian, Jinshou [Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100049 (China); Liu, Chunliang [Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049 (China); Wang, Yifang; Zhao, Tianchi [Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of CAS, Beijing 100049 (China); Liu, Hulin; Wei, Yonglin; Sai, Xiaofeng [Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100049 (China); Chen, Ping [State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi’an 710119 (China); Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100049 (China); Wang, Xing; Lu, Yu [Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100049 (China); Hui, Dandan; Guo, Lehui [State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xi’an 710119 (China); Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100049 (China); Liu, Shulin; Qian, Sen; Xia, Jingkai; Yan, Baojun; Zhu, Na [Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of CAS, Beijing 100049 (China); Sun, Jianning; Si, Shuguang [North Night Vision Technology (NNVT) CO., LTD, Nanjing 210110 (China); and others

    2016-08-11

    A novel large-area (20-inch) photomultiplier tube based on microchannel plate (MCP-PMTs) is proposed for the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) experiment. Its photoelectron collection efficiency C{sub e} is limited by the MCP open area fraction (A{sub open}). This efficiency is studied as a function of the angular (θ), energy (E) distributions of electrons in the input charge cloud and the potential difference (U) between the PMT photocathode and the MCP input surface, considering secondary electron emission from the MCP input electrode. In CST Studio Suite, Finite Integral Technique and Monte Carlo method are combined to investigate the dependence of C{sub e} on θ, E and U. Results predict that C{sub e} can exceed A{sub open}, and are applied to optimize the structure and operational parameters of the 20-inch MCP-PMT prototype. C{sub e} of the optimized MCP-PMT is expected to reach 81.2%. Finally, the reduction of the penetration depth of the MCP input electrode layer and the deposition of a high secondary electron yield material on the MCP are proposed to further optimize C{sub e}.

  14. Effect of the number of two-wheeled containers at a gathering point on the energetic workload and work efficiency in refuse collecting

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuijer, P. Paul F. M.; van der Beek, Allard J.; van Dieën, Jaap H.; Visser, Bart; Frings-Dresen, Monique H. W.

    2002-01-01

    The effect of the number of two-wheeled containers at a gathering point on the energetic workload and the work efficiency in refuse collecting was studied in order to design an optimal gathering point for two-wheeled containers. Three sizes of gathering points were investigated, i.e. with 2, 16 and

  15. Measuring the relative efficiencies of automated telling machines and point of sales

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Farajzadeh

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available During the past few years, many people have been interested in purchasing goods and services via point of sales (POS. They have also wished to pay their bills, withdraw cash or transfer funds using automated telling machines (ATMs. These two facilities help banks’ customers carry less amount of cash and do their daily banking activities any time even when the banks are closed. This paper presents an empirical investigation to measure the relative efficiency of nearly 600 POS and ATM units associated with Bank Melli Iran located in city of Tehran, Iran. Using data envelopment analysis, the study has disclosed that only small portions of POS and ATM are working efficiently.

  16. Is there an efficient trap or collection method for sampling Anopheles darlingi and other malaria vectors that can describe the essential parameters affecting transmission dynamics as effectively as human landing catches? - A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Bento Pereira Lima

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Distribution, abundance, feeding behaviour, host preference, parity status and human-biting and infection rates are among the medical entomological parameters evaluated when determining the vector capacity of mosquito species. To evaluate these parameters, mosquitoes must be collected using an appropriate method. Malaria is primarily transmitted by anthropophilic and synanthropic anophelines. Thus, collection methods must result in the identification of the anthropophilic species and efficiently evaluate the parameters involved in malaria transmission dynamics. Consequently, human landing catches would be the most appropriate method if not for their inherent risk. The choice of alternative anopheline collection methods, such as traps, must consider their effectiveness in reproducing the efficiency of human attraction. Collection methods lure mosquitoes by using a mixture of olfactory, visual and thermal cues. Here, we reviewed, classified and compared the efficiency of anopheline collection methods, with an emphasis on Neotropical anthropophilic species, especially Anopheles darlingi, in distinct malaria epidemiological conditions in Brazil.

  17. Is the Internet making markets more efficient? The evidence according to price indicators in Spain

    OpenAIRE

    Sabaté i Garriga, Ferran; Cañabate Carmona, Antonio; Cobo Valeri, Erik; García, Dominie

    2009-01-01

    It has been theorized that low search costs associated with e-commerce imply greater levels of efficiency relative to the conventional retail channels. Multiple empirical studies confirm this hypothesis concerning price level, although the evidence is mixed relative to price dispersion. This article empirically compares the efficiency of the Internet with the conventional retail channel through 4 price indicators for the CD market. The results, based on 1,603 prices collected in Spain, are su...

  18. 76 FR 3604 - Information Collection; Qualified Products List for Engine Driven Pumps

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-20

    ... levels. 2. Reliability and endurance requirements. These requirements include a 100-hour endurance test... the pump; and user's manuals. The information collected is necessary to ensure pumps are properly evaluated to meet specific requirements related to safety, effectiveness, efficiency, and reliability of the...

  19. The Relationship Between Collective Self-Esteem, Acculturation, and Alcohol-Related Consequences Among Asian American Young Adults

    OpenAIRE

    PEDERSEN, ERIC R.; HSU, SHARON HSIN; NEIGHBORS, CLAYTON; LEE, CHRISTINE M.; LARIMER, MARY E.

    2013-01-01

    We examined the relationship between collective self-esteem (i.e., the value one places on being part of a collective group), acculturation, and alcohol-related consequences in a sample of 442 Asian American young adults. We found that membership self-esteem and public collective self-esteem interacted with acculturation such that low levels of both predicted greater rates of consequences. Participants with lower acculturation and greater private collective self-esteem experienced more alcoho...

  20. Behavioural finance perspectives on Malaysian stock market efficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jasman Tuyon

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides historical, theoretical, and empirical syntheses in understanding the rationality of investors, stock prices, and stock market efficiency behaviour in the theoretical lenses of behavioural finance paradigm. The inquiry is guided by multidisciplinary behavioural-related theories. The analyses employed a long span of Bursa Malaysia stock market data from 1977 to 2014 along the different phases of economic development and market states. The tests confirmed the presence of asymmetric dynamic behaviour of prices predictability as well as risk and return relationships across different market states, risk states and quantiles data segments. The efficiency tests show trends of an adaptive pattern of weak market efficiency across various economic phases and market states. Collectively, these evidences lend support to bounded-adaptive rational of investors' behaviour, dynamic stock price behaviour, and accordingly forming bounded-adaptive market efficiency.

  1. Least square methods and covariance matrix applied to the relative efficiency calibration of a Ge(Li) detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geraldo, L.P.; Smith, D.L.

    1989-01-01

    The methodology of covariance matrix and square methods have been applied in the relative efficiency calibration for a Ge(Li) detector apllied in the relative efficiency calibration for a Ge(Li) detector. Procedures employed to generate, manipulate and test covariance matrices which serve to properly represent uncertainties of experimental data are discussed. Calibration data fitting using least square methods has been performed for a particular experimental data set. (author) [pt

  2. The relation between energy efficiency and general objectives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holmberg, John; Naessen, Jonas; Sprei, Frances

    2006-09-01

    Three overall objectives for energy efficiency programs are discussed: Reduction of negative externalities, esp. climatic change; Phase-out of nuclear power while limiting electricity imports; and creating welfare gains by correcting market failures of energy efficiency programs (rebound effects)

  3. Eco-efficiency of solid waste management in Welsh SMEs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarkis, Joseph; Dijkshoorn, Jeroen

    2005-11-01

    This paper provides an efficiency analysis of practices in Solid Waste Management of manufacturing companies in Wales. We apply data envelopment analysis (DEA) to a data set compiled during the National Waste Survey Wales 2003. We explore the relative performance of small and medium sized manufacturing enterprises (SME; 10-250 employees) in Wales. We determine the technical and scale environmental and economic efficiencies of these organizations. Our evaluation focuses on empirical data collected from companies in a wide diversity of manufacturing industries throughout Wales. We find significant differences in industry and size efficiencies. We also find correlations that exist among environmental and economic efficiencies. These variations show that improvements can be made using benchmarks from similar and different size industries. Further pursuit of an investigation of possible reasons for these differences is recommended.

  4. Efficient collection of peripheral blood stem cells using the Fresenius AS104 in chronic myelocytic leukemia patients with very high numbers of platelets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Komatsu, F; Ishida, Y

    1997-04-01

    For chronic myelocytic leukemia patients with very high numbers of platelets, we describe an efficient method for the collection of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) using the Fresenius AS104 cell separator. In these patients, it is difficult to collect a sufficient number of PBSC, due to the platelet band interfering with the machine's red cell interface sensor. We, therefore, tried a manual adjustment of the device. The collection phase was set automatically. When the whole blood began to separate into the red cell layer and plasma (plus mononuclear cell) layer, the red cell interface setting of "7:1" was changed to "OFF," and the plasma pump flow rate was controlled manually in order to locate the interface position 1 cm from the outside wall of the centrifuge chamber. After the collection phase, the procedure was returned to the automatic setting. By repeating this procedure, we were able to collect large numbers of PBSC.

  5. Comparison of copepod collection efficiencies by three commonly used plankton nets: A case study in Bohai Sea, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hongju; Yu, Hao; Liu, Guangxing

    2016-12-01

    Selection of net with a suitable mesh size is a key concern in the quantitative assessment of zooplankton, which is crucial to understand pelagic ecosystem processes. This study compared the copepod collecting efficiency of three commonly used plankton nets, namely, the China standard coarse net (505 μm mesh), the China standard fine net (77 μm), and the WP-2 net (200 μm). The experiment was performed at six stations in the Bohai Sea during the autumn of 2012. The coarse net substantially under-sampled small individuals (body widths copepod species but failed to collect rare species. The WP-2 net appeared to be a compromise of the two other nets, collecting both small copepods and rare species. The abundance of copepods collected by the coarse net (126.4 ± 86.5 ind m-3) was one to two orders of magnitude lower than that by the WP-2 net (5802.4 ± 2595.4 ind m-3), and the value of the fine net (11117.0 ± 4563.41 ind m-3) was nearly twice that of the WP-2 net. The abundance of large copepods ( i.e., adult Calanus sinicus) in the three nets showed no significant differences, but the abundance of small copepods declined with decreasing mesh size. The difference in abundance resulted from the under-sampling of small copepods with body widths < 672 μm and < 266 μm by the coarse and WP-2 nets, respectively.

  6. Unmeasured improvement work: the lack of routinely collected, service-related data in NHS endoscopy units in England involved in "modernisation"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hutchings Hayley A

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The availability of routinely collected service-related endoscopy data from NHS endoscopy units has never been quantified. Methods This retrospective observational study asked 19 endoscopy units to submit copies of all in-house, service-related endoscopy data that had been routinely collected by the unit – Referral numbers, Activity, Number of patients waiting and Number of lost slots. Nine of the endoscopy units had previously participated in the Modernising Endoscopy Services (MES project during 2003 to redesign their endoscopy services. These MES sites had access to additional funding and data collection software. The other ten (Control sites had modernised independently. All data was requested in two phases and corresponded to eight specific time points between January 2003 and April 2006. Results Only eight of 19 endoscopy units submitted routinely collected, service-related data. Another site's data was collected specifically for the study. A further two units claimed to routinely collect service-related data but did not submit any to the study. The remaining eight did not collect any service-related endoscopy data routinely and liaised with their Trust for data. Of the eight sites submitting service-related data, only three were MES project sites. Of these three, the data variables collected were limited and none collected the complete set of endoscopy data variables requested. Of the other five sites, two collected all four endoscopy data types. Data for the three MES project sites went back as far as January 2003, whilst the five Control sites were only able to submit data from December 2003 onwards. Conclusion There was a lack of service-related endoscopy data routinely collected by the study sites, especially those who had participated in the MES project. Without this data, NHS endoscopy services cannot have a true understanding of their services, cannot identify problems and cannot measure the impact of any

  7. The relationship between collective self-esteem, acculturation, and alcohol-related consequences among Asian American young adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedersen, Eric R; Hsu, Sharon Hsin; Neighbors, Clayton; Lee, Christine M; Larimer, Mary E

    2013-01-01

    We examined the relationship between collective self-esteem (i.e., the value one places on being part of a collective group), acculturation, and alcohol-related consequences in a sample of 442 Asian American young adults. We found that membership self-esteem and public collective self-esteem interacted with acculturation such that low levels of both predicted greater rates of consequences. Participants with lower acculturation and greater private collective self-esteem experienced more alcohol consequences. This study suggests that differential aspects of collective self-esteem may serve as protective or risk factors for Asian American young adults depending on degree of acculturation.

  8. Charge collection efficiency degradation induced by MeV ions in semiconductor devices: Model and experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vittone, E., E-mail: ettore.vittone@unito.it [Department of Physics, NIS Research Centre and CNISM, University of Torino, via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino (Italy); Pastuovic, Z. [Centre for Accelerator Science (ANSTO), Locked bag 2001, Kirrawee DC, NSW 2234 (Australia); Breese, M.B.H. [Centre for Ion Beam Applications (CIBA), Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117542 (Singapore); Garcia Lopez, J. [Centro Nacional de Aceleradores (CNA), Sevilla University, J. Andalucia, CSIC, Av. Thomas A. Edison 7, 41092 Sevilla (Spain); Jaksic, M. [Department for Experimental Physics, Ruder Boškovic Institute (RBI), P.O. Box 180, 10002 Zagreb (Croatia); Raisanen, J. [Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014 (Finland); Siegele, R. [Centre for Accelerator Science (ANSTO), Locked bag 2001, Kirrawee DC, NSW 2234 (Australia); Simon, A. [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna International Centre, P.O. Box 100, 1400 Vienna (Austria); Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (ATOMKI), Debrecen (Hungary); Vizkelethy, G. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), PO Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2016-04-01

    Highlights: • We study the electronic degradation of semiconductors induced by ion irradiation. • The experimental protocol is based on MeV ion microbeam irradiation. • The radiation induced damage is measured by IBIC. • The general model fits the experimental data in the low level damage regime. • Key parameters relevant to the intrinsic radiation hardness are extracted. - Abstract: This paper investigates both theoretically and experimentally the charge collection efficiency (CCE) degradation in silicon diodes induced by energetic ions. Ion Beam Induced Charge (IBIC) measurements carried out on n- and p-type silicon diodes which were previously irradiated with MeV He ions show evidence that the CCE degradation does not only depend on the mass, energy and fluence of the damaging ion, but also depends on the ion probe species and on the polarization state of the device. A general one-dimensional model is derived, which accounts for the ion-induced defect distribution, the ionization profile of the probing ion and the charge induction mechanism. Using the ionizing and non-ionizing energy loss profiles resulting from simulations based on the binary collision approximation and on the electrostatic/transport parameters of the diode under study as input, the model is able to accurately reproduce the experimental CCE degradation curves without introducing any phenomenological additional term or formula. Although limited to low level of damage, the model is quite general, including the displacement damage approach as a special case and can be applied to any semiconductor device. It provides a method to measure the capture coefficients of the radiation induced recombination centres. They can be considered indexes, which can contribute to assessing the relative radiation hardness of semiconductor materials.

  9. Spatial and temporal distribution of cotton squares and small cotton bolls fallen on ground after damage by boll weevil and the efficiency of the equipment used to collect them

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Alberto Domingues da Silva

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: In this study, we determined the spatial and temporal distribution of fallen cotton squares and small cotton bolls fallen damaged by boll weevil and the efficiency and time interval of the equipment used to collect cotton samples. Spatial and temporal distribution of cotton squares and small cotton bolls fallen on the soil damaged by boll weevil among cotton rows was determined in an experimental design of randomized blocks in a factorial arrangement of 4x3, represented by soil surface tracks located at 1-11cm, 12-22cm, 23-33cm, and 34-44cm away from the planting row of cotton plants 70, 85, and 100 days of age. Efficiency and collection time interval of the cotton samples fallen on the soil infested by boll weevil by plastic rakes that were straight or fan-shaped, big broom, collector instrument model CNPA and aspirator of leaves ‘Trapp’ were determined in randomized block design with five treatments, 10 repetitions for each. Results demonstrated that the collection of cotton samples must be performed with greater attention to soil strips located below the cotton top projection and aspirator ‘Trapp’ of leaves was more appropriate for the operation as it used less time of collection with similar efficiency to other available equipment.

  10. Development of efficient time-evolution method based on three-term recurrence relation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akama, Tomoko; Kobayashi, Osamu; Nanbu, Shinkoh

    2015-01-01

    The advantage of the real-time (RT) propagation method is a direct solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation which describes frequency properties as well as all dynamics of a molecular system composed of electrons and nuclei in quantum physics and chemistry. Its applications have been limited by computational feasibility, as the evaluation of the time-evolution operator is computationally demanding. In this article, a new efficient time-evolution method based on the three-term recurrence relation (3TRR) was proposed to reduce the time-consuming numerical procedure. The basic formula of this approach was derived by introducing a transformation of the operator using the arcsine function. Since this operator transformation causes transformation of time, we derived the relation between original and transformed time. The formula was adapted to assess the performance of the RT time-dependent Hartree-Fock (RT-TDHF) method and the time-dependent density functional theory. Compared to the commonly used fourth-order Runge-Kutta method, our new approach decreased computational time of the RT-TDHF calculation by about factor of four, showing the 3TRR formula to be an efficient time-evolution method for reducing computational cost

  11. Water collection behavior and hanging ability of bioinspired fiber.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Yongping; Chen, Yuan; Xue, Yan; Zheng, Yongmei; Jiang, Lei

    2012-03-13

    Since the water-collecting ability of the wetted cribellate spider capture silk is the result of a unique fiber structure, bioinspired fibers have been researched significantly so as to expose a new water-acquiring route in fogging-collection projects. However, the design of the geometry of bioinspired fiber is related to the ability of hanging drops, which has not been investigated in depth so far. Here, we fabricate bioinspired fibers to investigate the water collection behavior and the influence of geometry (i.e., periodicity of spindle knot) on the hanging-drop ability. We especially discuss water collection related to the periodicity of geometry on the bioinspired fiber. We reveal the length of the three phase contact line (TCL) at threshold conditions in conjunction with the maximal volume of a hanging drop at different modes. The study demonstrates that the geometrical structure of bioinspired fiber induces much stronger water hanging ability than that of uniform fiber, attributed to such special geometry that offers effectively an increasing TCL length or limits the contact length to be shorted. In addition, the geometry also improves the fog-collection efficiency by controlling tiny water drops to be collected in the large water drops at a given location.

  12. Evaporative Air Coolers Optimization for Energy Consumption Reduction and Energy Efficiency Ratio Increment

    OpenAIRE

    Leila Torkaman; Nasser Ghassembaglou

    2015-01-01

    Significant quota of Municipal Electrical Energy consumption is related to Decentralized Air Conditioning which is mostly provided by evaporative coolers. So the aim is to optimize design of air conditioners to increase their efficiencies. To achieve this goal, results of practical standardized tests for 40 evaporative coolers in different types collected and simultaneously results for same coolers based on one of EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio) modeling styles are figured ...

  13. Use of self-collected capillary blood samples for islet autoantibody screening in relatives: a feasibility and acceptability study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Y; Rafkin, L E; Matheson, D; Henderson, C; Boulware, D; Besser, R E J; Ferrara, C; Yu, L; Steck, A K; Bingley, P J

    2017-07-01

    To evaluate the feasibility of using self-collected capillary blood samples for islet autoantibody testing to identify risk in relatives of people with Type 1 diabetes. Participants were recruited via the observational TrialNet Pathway to Prevention study, which screens and monitors relatives of people with Type 1 diabetes for islet autoantibodies. Relatives were sent kits for capillary blood collection, with written instructions, an online instructional video link and a questionnaire. Sera from capillary blood samples were tested for autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase, islet antigen-2, insulin and zinc transporter 8. 'Successful' sample collection was defined as obtaining sufficient volume and quality to provide definitive autoantibody results, including confirmation of positive results by repeat assay. In 240 relatives who returned samples, the median (range) age was 15.5 (1-49) years and 51% were male. Of these samples, 98% were sufficient for glutamic acid decarboxylase, islet antigen-2 and zinc transporter 8 autoantibody testing and 84% for insulin autoantibody testing and complete autoantibody screen. The upper 90% confidence bound for unsuccessful collection was 4.4% for glutamic acid decarboxylase, islet antigen-2 and/or zinc transporter 8 autoantibody assays, and 19.3% for insulin autoantibodies. Despite 43% of 220 questionnaire respondents finding capillary blood collection uncomfortable or painful, 82% preferred home self-collection of capillary blood samples compared with outpatient venepuncture (90% of those aged 18 years). The perceived difficulty of collecting capillary blood samples did not affect success rate. Self-collected capillary blood sampling offers a feasible alternative to venous sampling, with the potential to facilitate autoantibody screening for Type 1 diabetes risk. © 2017 Diabetes UK.

  14. Fog collecting biomimetic surfaces: Influence of microstructure and wettability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azad, M A K; Ellerbrok, D; Barthlott, W; Koch, K

    2015-01-19

    We analyzed the fog collection efficiency of three different sets of samples: replica (with and without microstructures), copper wire (smooth and microgrooved) and polyolefin mesh (hydrophilic, superhydrophilic and hydrophobic). The collection efficiency of the samples was compared in each set separately to investigate the influence of microstructures and/or the wettability of the surfaces on fog collection. Based on the controlled experimental conditions chosen here large differences in the efficiency were found. We found that microstructured plant replica samples collected 2-3 times higher amounts of water than that of unstructured (smooth) samples. Copper wire samples showed similar results. Moreover, microgrooved wires had a faster dripping of water droplets than that of smooth wires. The superhydrophilic mesh tested here was proved more efficient than any other mesh samples with different wettability. The amount of collected fog by superhydrophilic mesh was about 5 times higher than that of hydrophilic (untreated) mesh and was about 2 times higher than that of hydrophobic mesh.

  15. 76 FR 40920 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Data To Support...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-12

    ... purposes of making policy or regulatory decisions. FDA estimates the burden of this collection of... Internet. To collect data quickly and efficiently with minimal cost to the government. To reduce burden to... distribution methods for its outreach campaign, which educates consumers about how to safely purchase drugs...

  16. Enhanced carrier collection efficiency and reduced quantum state absorption by electron doping in self-assembled quantum dot solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Tian, E-mail: tianlee@umd.edu, E-mail: dage@ece.umd.edu; Dagenais, Mario, E-mail: tianlee@umd.edu, E-mail: dage@ece.umd.edu [Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States); Lu, Haofeng; Fu, Lan; Tan, Hark Hoe; Jagadish, Chennupati [Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia)

    2015-02-02

    Reduced quantum dot (QD) absorption due to state filling effects and enhanced electron transport in doped QDs are demonstrated to play a key role in solar energy conversion. Reduced QD state absorption with increased n-doping is observed in the self-assembled In{sub 0.5}Ga{sub 0.5}As/GaAs QDs from high resolution below-bandgap external quantum efficiency (EQE) measurement, which is a direct consequence of the Pauli exclusion principle. We also show that besides partial filling of the quantum states, electron-doping produces negatively charged QDs that exert a repulsive Coulomb force on the mobile electrons, thus altering the electron trajectory and reducing the probability of electron capture, leading to an improved collection efficiency of photo-generated carriers, as indicated by an absolute above-bandgap EQE measurement. The resulting redistribution of the mobile electron in the planar direction is further validated by the observed photoluminescence intensity dependence on doping.

  17. Mobilising Investment in Energy Efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-07-01

    Taxes, loans and grants, trading schemes and white certificates, public procurement and investment in R&D or infrastructure: known collectively as 'economic instruments', these tools can be powerful means of mobilising the finances needed to achieve policy goals by implementing energy efficiency measures. The role of economic instruments is to kick-start the private financial markets and to motivate private investors to fund EE measures. They should reinforce and promote energy performance regulations. This IEA analysis addresses the fact that, to date, relatively little effort has been directed toward evaluating how well economic instruments work. Using the buildings sector to illustrate how such measures can support energy efficiency, this paper can help policy makers better select and design economic instruments appropriate to their policy objectives and national contexts. This report’s three main aims are to: 1) Examine how economic instruments are currently used in energy efficiency policy; 2) Consider how economic instruments can be more effective and efficient in supporting low-energy buildings; and 3) Assess how economic instruments should be funded, where public outlay is needed. Detailed case studies in this report assess examples of economic instruments for energy efficiency in the buildings sector in Canada (grants), France (tax relief and loans), Germany (loans and grants), Ireland (grants) and Italy (white certificates and tax relief).

  18. Is the Internet making markets more efficient? The evidence according to price indicators in Spain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ferran Sabate

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available It has been theorized that low search costs associated with e-commerce imply greater levels of efficiency relative to the conventional retail channels. Multiple empirical studies confirm this hypothesis concerning price level, although the evidence is mixed relative to price dispersion. This article empirically compares the efficiency of the Internet with the conventional retail channel through 4 price indicators for the CD market. The results, based on 1,603 prices collected in Spain, are surprising. The conventional channel shows greater efficiency for both posted and final prices. These findings together with the coincident results of other reviewed studies would suggest key factors related to the development of e-commerce. Implications of the study and future considerations are discussed.

  19. Sampling efficiency of the Moore egg collector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worthington, Thomas A.; Brewer, Shannon K.; Grabowski, Timothy B.; Mueller, Julia

    2013-01-01

    Quantitative studies focusing on the collection of semibuoyant fish eggs, which are associated with a pelagic broadcast-spawning reproductive strategy, are often conducted to evaluate reproductive success. Many of the fishes in this reproductive guild have suffered significant reductions in range and abundance. However, the efficiency of the sampling gear used to evaluate reproduction is often unknown and renders interpretation of the data from these studies difficult. Our objective was to assess the efficiency of a modified Moore egg collector (MEC) using field and laboratory trials. Gear efficiency was assessed by releasing a known quantity of gellan beads with a specific gravity similar to that of eggs from representatives of this reproductive guild (e.g., the Arkansas River Shiner Notropis girardi) into an outdoor flume and recording recaptures. We also used field trials to determine how discharge and release location influenced gear efficiency given current methodological approaches. The flume trials indicated that gear efficiency ranged between 0.0% and 9.5% (n = 57) in a simple 1.83-m-wide channel and was positively related to discharge. Efficiency in the field trials was lower, ranging between 0.0% and 3.6%, and was negatively related to bead release distance from the MEC and discharge. The flume trials indicated that the gellan beads were not distributed uniformly across the channel, although aggregation was reduced at higher discharges. This clustering of passively drifting particles should be considered when selecting placement sites for an MEC; further, the use of multiple devices may be warranted in channels with multiple areas of concentrated flow.

  20. CHAPTER 6. Biomimetic Materials for Efficient Atmospheric Water Collection

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Lianbin; Wang, Peng

    2016-01-01

    Water scarcity is a severe problem in semi-arid desert regions, land-scarce countries and in countries with high levels of economic activity. In these regions, the collection of atmospheric water - for example, fog - is recognized as an important

  1. Design of a segmented nonimaging Fresnel dome for nontracking solar collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viera-González, Perla M.; Sánchez-Guerrero, Guillermo E.; Martínez-Guerra, Edgar; Ceballos-Herrera, Daniel E.

    2017-07-01

    The efficiency of sunlight collection systems is related to the optical element used as a collector. On this subject, the design of a nontracking solar collector that consists of a segmented nonimaging Fresnel dome is presented. It is formed by the conjunction of different zones for solar collection, where each one is a nonimaging Fresnel lens that collects a specific angular range (θ) of sunlight received in the northeast of Mexico, but the methodology presented can be easily extended to other geographic locations. The final design is a semistationary segmented collector with a 100-cm diameter and 50-cm focal length that needs a 180-deg rotation over the XY-plane in each equinox. The numerical simulations show that the nontracking segmented collector has a combined acceptance semiangle of θ=±105 deg with an average efficiency of over 67% from 9:00 to 18:00 h. The spatial and angular distributions of the sunlight collected are also included. This design has a collection area equal to that of a single nonimaging Fresnel lens with an acceptance semiangle of θ=±45 deg. These results are reproducible and provide valuable data for designing nontracking solar collectors based on nonimaging Fresnel lens.

  2. The International Database of Efficient Appliances (IDEA): A new tool to support appliance energy-efficiency deployment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gerke, Brian F.; McNeil, Michael A.; Tu, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: •IDEA collects, organizes, and stores data on appliance features and efficiency. •Data can be gathered for any appliance type on any international market. •IDEA enables new approaches to efficiency deployment and monitoring. •Techniques are developed for cross-market comparison of energy-savings potential. •We find significant cost-effective energy-savings potential from efficiency for Indian and Chinese refrigerators. -- Abstract: Appliance energy-efficiency programs are a central component of many countries’ energy-policy portfolios. A major barrier to optimal implementation of these programs is lack of data to determine market baselines, assess the potential for cost-effective energy savings, and track markets over time to evaluate and verify program impacts. To address this gap, we have developed the International Database of Efficient Appliances (IDEA), a suite of software tools that automatically gathers data that is currently dispersed across various online sources and compiles it into a unified repository of information on efficiency, price, and features for a diversity of appliances and devices in markets around the world. In this article we describe the framework and functionality of IDEA, and we demonstrate its power as a resource for research and policy development related to appliance energy efficiency. Using IDEA data for refrigerators in China and India, we assess the potential for cost-effective energy savings within each market by computing robust indicators that can also be easily compared across different appliances and markets. We find that significant cost-effective savings are available on both markets. We discuss implications for the development of future energy-efficiency deployment programs.

  3. The relative efficiency of market-based environmental policy instruments with imperfect compliance

    OpenAIRE

    Rousseau, Sandra; Proost, Stef

    2004-01-01

    This paper examines to what extent incomplete compliance of environmental regulation mitigates the distortions caused by pre-existing labour taxes. We study the relative cost efficiency of three market-based instruments: emission taxes, tradable permits and output taxes. In a first-best setting and given that monitoring and enforcement is costless, we find that the same utility levels can be reached with and without incomplete compliance. However, allowing for violations makes the policy i...

  4. 76 FR 38143 - Proposed Agency Information Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-29

    ..., Solar Energy Technologies Program, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. [FR Doc. 2011-16307... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Proposed Agency Information Collection AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. ACTION...

  5. High-level radioactive wastes disposals and collection of relating basic information on geological environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishii, Takemasa; Marui, Atsunao; Uchida, Youhei; Nakashima, Yoshito; Hayashi, Takeshi; Miyakoshi, Akinobu

    2004-01-01

    Details of the NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopic method with pulsed gradient magnetic field are described for obtaining self-diffusion coefficient of a water molecule in clay gels. By computer simulation of three dimensional diffusion in random lattice, it will be shown that a vast amount of data having hitherto collected on diffusion of water in geological environment may be understood systematically by employment of the concept of disturbance played by water adsorption on clay surface. The disturbance efficiency is expressed by a parameter obtainable in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment. It is concluded that a thicker water-containing layer in buffer material surrounding the specimens would show a slower diffusion. (S. Ohno)

  6. Productive efficiency of public and private solid waste logistics and its implications for waste management policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daisuke Ichinose

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper measures the productive efficiency of municipal solid waste (MSW logistics by applying data envelopment analysis (DEA to cross-sectional data of prefectures in Japan. Either through public operations or by outsourcing to private waste collection operators, prefectural governments possess the fundamental authority over waste processing operations in Japan. Therefore, we estimate a multi-input multi-output production efficiency at the prefectural level via DEA, employing several different model settings. Our data classify the MSW into household solid waste (HSW and business solid waste (BSW collected by both private and public operators as separate outputs, while the numbers of trucks and workers used by private and public operators are used as inputs. The results consistently show that geographical characteristics, such as the number of inhabited remote islands, are relatively more dominant factors for determining inefficiency. While the implication that a minimum efficient scale is not achieved in these small islands is in line with the literature suggesting that waste logistics has increasing returns at the municipal level, our results indicate that waste collection efficiency in Japan is well described by CRS technology at the prefectural level. The results also show that prefectures with higher private-sector participation, measured in terms of HSW collection, are more efficient, whereas a higher private–labor ratio negatively affects efficiency. We also provide evidence that prefectures with inefficient MSW logistics have a higher tendency of suffering from the illegal dumping of industrial waste.

  7. Energy Efficient IoT Data Collection in Smart Cities Exploiting D2D Communications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonino Orsino

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Fifth Generation (5G wireless systems are expected to connect an avalanche of “smart” objects disseminated from the largest “Smart City” to the smallest “Smart Home”. In this vision, Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A is deemed to play a fundamental role in the Internet of Things (IoT arena providing a large coherent infrastructure and a wide wireless connectivity to the devices. However, since LTE-A was originally designed to support high data rates and large data size, novel solutions are required to enable an efficient use of radio resources to convey small data packets typically exchanged by IoT applications in “smart” environments. On the other hand, the typically high energy consumption required by cellular communications is a serious obstacle to large scale IoT deployments under cellular connectivity as in the case of Smart City scenarios. Network-assisted Device-to-Device (D2D communications are considered as a viable solution to reduce the energy consumption for the devices. The particular approach presented in this paper consists in appointing one of the IoT smart devices as a collector of all data from a cluster of objects using D2D links, thus acting as an aggregator toward the eNodeB. By smartly adapting the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS on the communication links, we will show it is possible to maximize the radio resource utilization as a function of the total amount of data to be sent. A further benefit that we will highlight is the possibility to reduce the transmission power when a more robust MCS is adopted. A comprehensive performance evaluation in a wide set of scenarios will testify the achievable gains in terms of energy efficiency and resource utilization in the envisaged D2D-based IoT data collection.

  8. Energy Efficient IoT Data Collection in Smart Cities Exploiting D2D Communications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orsino, Antonino; Araniti, Giuseppe; Militano, Leonardo; Alonso-Zarate, Jesus; Molinaro, Antonella; Iera, Antonio

    2016-06-08

    Fifth Generation (5G) wireless systems are expected to connect an avalanche of "smart" objects disseminated from the largest "Smart City" to the smallest "Smart Home". In this vision, Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) is deemed to play a fundamental role in the Internet of Things (IoT) arena providing a large coherent infrastructure and a wide wireless connectivity to the devices. However, since LTE-A was originally designed to support high data rates and large data size, novel solutions are required to enable an efficient use of radio resources to convey small data packets typically exchanged by IoT applications in "smart" environments. On the other hand, the typically high energy consumption required by cellular communications is a serious obstacle to large scale IoT deployments under cellular connectivity as in the case of Smart City scenarios. Network-assisted Device-to-Device (D2D) communications are considered as a viable solution to reduce the energy consumption for the devices. The particular approach presented in this paper consists in appointing one of the IoT smart devices as a collector of all data from a cluster of objects using D2D links, thus acting as an aggregator toward the eNodeB. By smartly adapting the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) on the communication links, we will show it is possible to maximize the radio resource utilization as a function of the total amount of data to be sent. A further benefit that we will highlight is the possibility to reduce the transmission power when a more robust MCS is adopted. A comprehensive performance evaluation in a wide set of scenarios will testify the achievable gains in terms of energy efficiency and resource utilization in the envisaged D2D-based IoT data collection.

  9. Relative thermoluminescent efficiencies proton/gamma and helium/gamma of high temperature peaks in TLD-100 dosemeters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Flores M, E.; Avila, O.; Rodriguez V, M.; Massillon, J.L.G.; Buenfil A, E.; Ruiz T, C.; Brandan, M.E.; Gamboa De Buen, I.

    2007-01-01

    This work presents measures of relative thermoluminescent efficiency of those high temperature peaks of TLD-100 dosemeters exposed to protons of 1.5 MeV and to helium nuclei of 3 and 7.5 MeV. A rigorous reading and of deconvolution protocol was used for the calculation of the TL efficiencies. Additionally an Excel program that facilitated the deconvolution adjustment process of the glow curves was elaborated. (Author)

  10. Impact of energy efficiency gains on output and energy use with Cobb-Douglas production function

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei Taoyuan

    2007-01-01

    A special issue of Energy Policy-28 (2000)-was devoted to a collection of papers, edited by Dr. Lee Schipper. The collection included a paper entitled 'A view from the macro side: rebound, backfire, and Khazzoom-Brookes' in which it was argued that the impact of fuel efficiency gains on output (roughly, GDP) is likely to be relatively small by Cobb-Douglas production function. However, an error in the analysis leads to under-estimation of the long-term impact. This paper first provides a partial equilibrium analysis by an alternative method for the same case and then proceeds to an analysis on the issue in a two-sector general equilibrium system. In the latter analysis, energy price is internalized. Both energy use efficiency and energy production efficiency are involved

  11. Learning to Play Efficient Coarse Correlated Equilibria

    KAUST Repository

    Borowski, Holly P.

    2018-03-10

    The majority of the distributed learning literature focuses on convergence to Nash equilibria. Coarse correlated equilibria, on the other hand, can often characterize more efficient collective behavior than even the best Nash equilibrium. However, there are no existing distributed learning algorithms that converge to specific coarse correlated equilibria. In this paper, we provide one such algorithm, which guarantees that the agents’ collective joint strategy will constitute an efficient coarse correlated equilibrium with high probability. The key to attaining efficient correlated behavior through distributed learning involves incorporating a common random signal into the learning environment.

  12. Technological development for super-high efficiency solar cells. Technological development for super-high efficiency singlecrystalline silicon solar cells (super-high efficiency singlecrystalline Si solar cells); Chokokoritsu taiyo denchi no gijutsu kaihatsu. Chokokoritsu tankessho silicon taiyo denchi no gijutsu kaihatsu (chokokoritsu tankessho silicon taiyo denchi cell no gijutsu kaihatsu)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tatsuta, M [New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, Tokyo (Japan)

    1994-12-01

    This paper reports the study results on technological development of super-high efficiency singlecrystalline silicon solar cells in fiscal 1994. (1) On development of high-performance light receiving layer, the fine electrode for receiving surfaces was designed to reduce serial resistance, and the high-quality oxide passivation film was studied to reduce surface recombination velocity. (2) On development of forming technology of back heterojunction, the high-quality cell with B-doped fine crystalline Si film on its back was studied by heat treatment of the fine crystalline Si film, and the cell structure with high back reflectance of light was also studied. (3) On analysis for high-efficiency cells, the relation between the back recombination velocity at the interface between p-type substrate and back passivation film, and the internal collection efficiency as probe light was injected from the back, was calculated by numerical simulation. As a result, the cell back recombination velocity could be evaluated by measuring the spectral internal collection efficiency to back injection. 15 figs., 6 tabs.

  13. Collection of aerosols in high efficiency particulate air filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pratt, R.P.; Green, B.L.

    1987-01-01

    The investigation of the performance of HEPA filters of both minipleat and conventional deep pleat designs has continued at Harwell. Samples of filters from several manufacturers have been tested against the UKAEA/BNF plc filter purchasing specification. No unexpected problems have come to light in these tests, apart from some evidence to suggest that although meeting the specification minipleat filters are inherently weaker in burst strength terms than conventional filters. In addition tests have been carried out to investigate the dust loading versus pressure drop characteristics of both designs of filters using a range of test dusts - ASHRAE dust, carbon black, BS 2831 No. 2 test dust and sodium chloride. In parallel with laboratory test work a more fundamental study on the effects of geometric arrangement of filter media within the filter frame has been carried out on behalf of the UKAEA by Loughborough University. The results of this study has been the development of a mathematical model to predict the dust load versus pressure drop characteristic as a function of filter media geometry. This has produced good agreement with laboratory test results using a challenge aerosol in the 1-5 μm size range. Further observations have been made to enhance understanding of the deposition of aerosols within the filter structure. The observations suggest that the major influence on dust loading is the depth of material collected in the flow channel as a surface deposition, and this explains the relatively poor performance of the minipleat design of filter

  14. [Patient-related complexity in nursing care - Collective case studies in the acute care hospital].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurtner, Caroline; Spirig, Rebecca; Staudacher, Diana; Huber, Evelyn

    2018-06-04

    Patient-related complexity in nursing care - Collective case studies in the acute care hospital Abstract. Patient-related complexity of nursing is defined by the three characteristics "instability", "uncertainty", and "variability". Complexity increased in the past years, due to reduced hospital length of stay and a growing number of patients with chronic and multiple diseases. We investigated the phenomenon of patient-related complexity from the point of view of nurses and clinical nurse specialists in an acute care hospital. In the context of a collective case study design, nurses and clinical nurse specialists assessed the complexity of nursing situations with a questionnaire. Subsequently, we interviewed nurses and clinical nurse specialists about their evaluation of patient-related complexity. In a within-case-analysis we summarized data inductively to create case narratives. By means of a cross-case-analysis we compared the cases with regard to deductively derived characteristics. The four cases exemplarily showed that the degree of complexity depends on the controllability and predictability of clinical problems. Additionally, complexity increases or decreases, according to patients' individual resources. Complex patient situations demand professional expertise, experience, communicative competencies and the ability for reflection. Beginner nurses would benefit from support and advice by experienced nurses to develop these skills.

  15. EIA's Role in Energy Data Collection, With Some Notes on Water Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leckey, T. J.

    2017-12-01

    The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. EIA collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment. EIA conducts a comprehensive data collection program that covers the full spectrum of energy sources, end uses, and energy flows. This presentation will describe EIA's authority to collect energy data, report on the range of energy areas currently collected by EIA, discuss some areas where energy information and water issues intersect, and describe the relatively few areas where EIA does collect a small amount of water data. The presentation will conclude with some thoughts about necessary components for effective collection of water data at the federal level.

  16. Institutions, Equilibria and Efficiency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Competition and efficiency is at the core of economic theory. This volume collects papers of leading scholars, which extend the conventional general equilibrium model in important ways. Efficiency and price regulation are studied when markets are incomplete and existence of equilibria in such set...... in OLG, learning in OLG and in games, optimal pricing of derivative securities, the impact of heterogeneity...

  17. Effects of the number of people on efficient capture and sample collection: A lion case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sam M. Ferreira

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Certain carnivore research projects and approaches depend on successful capture of individuals of interest. The number of people present at a capture site may determine success of a capture. In this study 36 lion capture cases in the Kruger National Park were used to evaluate whether the number of people present at a capture site influenced lion response rates and whether the number of people at a sampling site influenced the time it took to process the collected samples. The analyses suggest that when nine or fewer people were present, lions appeared faster at a call-up locality compared with when there were more than nine people. The number of people, however, did not influence the time it took to process the lions. It is proposed that efficient lion capturing should spatially separate capture and processing sites and minimise the number of people at a capture site.

  18. Effects of the number of people on efficient capture and sample collection: a lion case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Sam M; Maruping, Nkabeng T; Schoultz, Darius; Smit, Travis R

    2013-05-24

    Certain carnivore research projects and approaches depend on successful capture of individuals of interest. The number of people present at a capture site may determine success of a capture. In this study 36 lion capture cases in the Kruger National Park were used to evaluate whether the number of people present at a capture site influenced lion response rates and whether the number of people at a sampling site influenced the time it took to process the collected samples. The analyses suggest that when nine or fewer people were present, lions appeared faster at a call-up locality compared with when there were more than nine people. The number of people, however, did not influence the time it took to process the lions. It is proposed that efficient lion capturing should spatially separate capture and processing sites and minimise the number of people at a capture site.

  19. Event-related potential evidence for the processing efficiency theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, N P; Janelle, C M

    2007-01-15

    The purpose of this study was to examine the central tenets of the processing efficiency theory using psychophysiological measures of attention and effort. Twenty-eight participants were divided equally into either a high or low trait anxiety group. They were then required to perform a simulated driving task while responding to one of four target light-emitting diodes. Cortical activity and dual task performance were recorded under two conditions -- baseline and competition -- with cognitive anxiety being elevated in the competitive session by an instructional set. Although driving speed was similar across sessions, a reduction in P3 amplitude to cue onset in the light detection task occurred for both groups during the competitive session, suggesting a reduction in processing efficiency as participants became more state anxious. Our findings provide more comprehensive and mechanistic evidence for processing efficiency theory, and confirm that increases in cognitive anxiety can result in a reduction of processing efficiency with little change in performance effectiveness.

  20. Costs and benefits of pneumatic collection in three specific New York City cases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, Benjamin; Spertus, Juliette; Kamga, Camille

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Pneumatic and truck collection were compared in three New York City locations. • Relative costs, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions varied significantly. • Variations were due to location-specific factors (e.g., route density, truck type). • Under appropriate conditions, pneumatic collection reduces TMT, BTU, and GHG. • Pneumatic capex may be offset by operating savings and externality benefits. - Abstract: Truck-based collection of municipal solid waste imposes significant negative externalities on cities and constrains the efficiency of separate collection of recyclables and organics and of unit-price-based waste-reduction systems. In recent decades, hundreds of municipal-scale pneumatic collection systems have been installed in Europe and Asia. Relatively few prior studies have compared the economic or environmental impacts of these systems to those of truck collection. A critical factor to consider when making this comparison is the extent to which the findings reflect the specific geographic, demographic, and operational characteristics of the systems considered. This paper is based on three case studies that consider the specific characteristics of three locations, comparing pneumatic systems with conventional collection on the basis of actual waste tonnages, composition, sources, collection routes, truck trips, and facility locations. In one case, alternative upgrades to an existing pneumatic system are compared to a potential truck-collection operation. In the other cases, existing truck operations are compared to proposed pneumatic systems which, to reduce capital costs, would be installed without new trenching or tunneling through the use of existing linear infrastructure. For the two proposed retrofit pneumatic systems, up to 48,000 truck kilometers travelled would be avoided and energy use would be reduced by up to 60% at an incremental cost of up to $400,000 USD per year over the total operating-plus-capital cost of

  1. Costs and benefits of pneumatic collection in three specific New York City cases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miller, Benjamin, E-mail: BenjaminMiller@nyc.rr.com [University Transportation Research Center, Region 2, 910 Marshak Hall, The City College of New York, New York, NY 10031 (United States); Spertus, Juliette, E-mail: Juliette.Spertus@gmail.com [19 Clifton Place, Brooklyn, NY 11238 (United States); Kamga, Camille, E-mail: CKamga@UTRC2.org [University Transportation Research Center, Region 2, 910 Marshak Hall, The City College of New York, New York, NY 10031 (United States)

    2014-11-15

    Highlights: • Pneumatic and truck collection were compared in three New York City locations. • Relative costs, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions varied significantly. • Variations were due to location-specific factors (e.g., route density, truck type). • Under appropriate conditions, pneumatic collection reduces TMT, BTU, and GHG. • Pneumatic capex may be offset by operating savings and externality benefits. - Abstract: Truck-based collection of municipal solid waste imposes significant negative externalities on cities and constrains the efficiency of separate collection of recyclables and organics and of unit-price-based waste-reduction systems. In recent decades, hundreds of municipal-scale pneumatic collection systems have been installed in Europe and Asia. Relatively few prior studies have compared the economic or environmental impacts of these systems to those of truck collection. A critical factor to consider when making this comparison is the extent to which the findings reflect the specific geographic, demographic, and operational characteristics of the systems considered. This paper is based on three case studies that consider the specific characteristics of three locations, comparing pneumatic systems with conventional collection on the basis of actual waste tonnages, composition, sources, collection routes, truck trips, and facility locations. In one case, alternative upgrades to an existing pneumatic system are compared to a potential truck-collection operation. In the other cases, existing truck operations are compared to proposed pneumatic systems which, to reduce capital costs, would be installed without new trenching or tunneling through the use of existing linear infrastructure. For the two proposed retrofit pneumatic systems, up to 48,000 truck kilometers travelled would be avoided and energy use would be reduced by up to 60% at an incremental cost of up to $400,000 USD per year over the total operating-plus-capital cost of

  2. An energy-efficient communication method based on the relationships between biological signals for ubiquitous health monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Hyok Chon; Na, Doosu; Ko, Byung Geun; Lee, Songjun

    2008-01-01

    Wireless sensor networks have been studied in the area of intelligent transportation systems, disaster perception, environment monitoring, ubiquitous healthcare, home network, and so on. For the ubiquitous healthcare, the previous systems collect the sensed health related data at portable devices without regard to correlations of various biological signals to determine the health conditions. It is not the energy-efficient method to gather a lot of information into a specific node to decide the health condition. Since the biological signals are related with each other to estimate certain body condition, it is necessary to be collected selectively by their relationship for energy efficiency of the networked nodes. One of researches about low power consumption is the reduction of the amount of packet transmission. In this paper, a health monitoring system, which allows the transmission of the reduced number of packets by means of setting the routing path considered the relations of biological signals, is proposed.

  3. In vivo evaluation of the effect of stimulus distribution on FIR statistical efficiency in event-related fMRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jansma, J Martijn; de Zwart, Jacco A; van Gelderen, Peter; Duyn, Jeff H; Drevets, Wayne C; Furey, Maura L

    2013-05-15

    Technical developments in MRI have improved signal to noise, allowing use of analysis methods such as Finite impulse response (FIR) of rapid event related functional MRI (er-fMRI). FIR is one of the most informative analysis methods as it determines onset and full shape of the hemodynamic response function (HRF) without any a priori assumptions. FIR is however vulnerable to multicollinearity, which is directly related to the distribution of stimuli over time. Efficiency can be optimized by simplifying a design, and restricting stimuli distribution to specific sequences, while more design flexibility necessarily reduces efficiency. However, the actual effect of efficiency on fMRI results has never been tested in vivo. Thus, it is currently difficult to make an informed choice between protocol flexibility and statistical efficiency. The main goal of this study was to assign concrete fMRI signal to noise values to the abstract scale of FIR statistical efficiency. Ten subjects repeated a perception task with five random and m-sequence based protocol, with varying but, according to literature, acceptable levels of multicollinearity. Results indicated substantial differences in signal standard deviation, while the level was a function of multicollinearity. Experiment protocols varied up to 55.4% in standard deviation. Results confirm that quality of fMRI in an FIR analysis can significantly and substantially vary with statistical efficiency. Our in vivo measurements can be used to aid in making an informed decision between freedom in protocol design and statistical efficiency. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  4. Relations between the efficiency, power and dissipation for linear irreversible heat engine at maximum trade-off figure of merit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iyyappan, I.; Ponmurugan, M.

    2018-03-01

    A trade of figure of merit (\\dotΩ ) criterion accounts the best compromise between the useful input energy and the lost input energy of the heat devices. When the heat engine is working at maximum \\dotΩ criterion its efficiency increases significantly from the efficiency at maximum power. We derive the general relations between the power, efficiency at maximum \\dotΩ criterion and minimum dissipation for the linear irreversible heat engine. The efficiency at maximum \\dotΩ criterion has the lower bound \

  5. Specialization does not predict individual efficiency in an ant.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Dornhaus

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available The ecological success of social insects is often attributed to an increase in efficiency achieved through division of labor between workers in a colony. Much research has therefore focused on the mechanism by which a division of labor is implemented, i.e., on how tasks are allocated to workers. However, the important assumption that specialists are indeed more efficient at their work than generalist individuals--the "Jack-of-all-trades is master of none" hypothesis--has rarely been tested. Here, I quantify worker efficiency, measured as work completed per time, in four different tasks in the ant Temnothorax albipennis: honey and protein foraging, collection of nest-building material, and brood transports in a colony emigration. I show that individual efficiency is not predicted by how specialized workers were on the respective task. Worker efficiency is also not consistently predicted by that worker's overall activity or delay to begin the task. Even when only the worker's rank relative to nestmates in the same colony was used, specialization did not predict efficiency in three out of the four tasks, and more specialized workers actually performed worse than others in the fourth task (collection of sand grains. I also show that the above relationships, as well as median individual efficiency, do not change with colony size. My results demonstrate that in an ant species without morphologically differentiated worker castes, workers may nevertheless differ in their ability to perform different tasks. Surprisingly, this variation is not utilized by the colony--worker allocation to tasks is unrelated to their ability to perform them. What, then, are the adaptive benefits of behavioral specialization, and why do workers choose tasks without regard for whether they can perform them well? We are still far from an understanding of the adaptive benefits of division of labor in social insects.

  6. Technical note: A simple approach for efficient collection of field reference data for calibrating remote sensing mapping of northern wetlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gålfalk, Magnus; Karlson, Martin; Crill, Patrick; Bousquet, Philippe; Bastviken, David

    2018-03-01

    The calibration and validation of remote sensing land cover products are highly dependent on accurate field reference data, which are costly and practically challenging to collect. We describe an optical method for collection of field reference data that is a fast, cost-efficient, and robust alternative to field surveys and UAV imaging. A lightweight, waterproof, remote-controlled RGB camera (GoPro HERO4 Silver, GoPro Inc.) was used to take wide-angle images from 3.1 to 4.5 m in altitude using an extendable monopod, as well as representative near-ground (wetland mapping. The method uses common non-expensive equipment, does not require special skills or training, and is facilitated by a step-by-step manual that is included in the Supplement. Over time a global ground cover database can be built that can be used as reference data for studies of non-forested wetlands from satellites such as Sentinel 1 and 2 (10 m pixel size).

  7. Autologous peripheral blood stem cell harvest: Collection efficiency and factors affecting it

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aseem K Tiwari

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Harvest of hematopoietic progenitor cells via leukapheresis is being used increasingly for transplants in India. Adequate yield of cells per kilogram body weight of recipient is required for successful engraftment. Collection efficiency (CE is an objective quality parameter used to assess the quality of leukapheresis program. In this study, we calculated the CE of the ComTec cell separator (Fresenius Kabi, Germany using two different formulae (CE1 and CE2 and analyzed various patient and procedural factors, which may affect it. Materials and Methods: One hundred and one consecutive procedures in 77 autologous donors carried out over 3 years period were retrospectively reviewed. Various characteristics like gender, age, weight, disease status, hematocrit, preprocedure total leukocyte count, preprocedure CD34 positive (CD34+ cells count, preprocedure absolute CD34+ cell count and processed apheresis volume effect on CE were compared. CE for each procedure was calculated using two different formulae, and results were compared using statistical correlation and regression analysis. Results: The mean CE1 and CE2 was 41.2 and 49.1, respectively. CE2 appeared to be more accurate indicator of overall CE as it considered the impact of continued mobilization of stem cells during apheresis procedure, itself. Of all the factors affecting CE, preprocedure absolute CD34+ was the only independent factor affecting CE. Conclusion: The only factor affecting CE was preprocedure absolute CD34+ cells. Though the mean CE2 was higher than CE1, it was not statistically significant.

  8. Relative efficiency of hydrogen technologies for the hydrogen economy : a fuzzy AHP/DEA hybrid model approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, S.

    2009-01-01

    As a provider of national energy security, the Korean Institute of Energy Research is seeking to establish a long term strategic technology roadmap for a hydrogen-based economy. This paper addressed 5 criteria regarding the strategy, notably economic impact, commercial potential, inner capacity, technical spinoff, and development cost. The fuzzy AHP and DEA hybrid model were used in a two-stage multi-criteria decision making approach to evaluate the relative efficiency of hydrogen technologies for the hydrogen economy. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process reflects the uncertainty of human thoughts with interval values instead of clear-cut numbers. It therefore allocates the relative importance of 4 criteria, notably economic impact, commercial potential, inner capacity and technical spin-off. The relative efficiency of hydrogen technologies for the hydrogen economy can be measured via data envelopment analysis. It was concluded that the scientific decision making approach can be used effectively to allocate research and development resources and activities

  9. Relative efficiency of hydrogen technologies for the hydrogen economy : a fuzzy AHP/DEA hybrid model approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, S. [Korea Inst. of Energy Research, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of). Energy Policy Research Division; Mogi, G. [Tokyo Univ., (Japan). Dept. of Technology Management for Innovation, Graduate School of Engineering; Kim, J. [Korea Inst. of Energy Research, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2009-07-01

    As a provider of national energy security, the Korean Institute of Energy Research is seeking to establish a long term strategic technology roadmap for a hydrogen-based economy. This paper addressed 5 criteria regarding the strategy, notably economic impact, commercial potential, inner capacity, technical spinoff, and development cost. The fuzzy AHP and DEA hybrid model were used in a two-stage multi-criteria decision making approach to evaluate the relative efficiency of hydrogen technologies for the hydrogen economy. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process reflects the uncertainty of human thoughts with interval values instead of clear-cut numbers. It therefore allocates the relative importance of 4 criteria, notably economic impact, commercial potential, inner capacity and technical spin-off. The relative efficiency of hydrogen technologies for the hydrogen economy can be measured via data envelopment analysis. It was concluded that the scientific decision making approach can be used effectively to allocate research and development resources and activities.

  10. Analysis of the system efficiency of an intermediate temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell at elevated temperature and relative humidity conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeon, Seung Won; Cha, Dowon; Kim, Hyung Soon; Kim, Yongchan

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • System efficiency of PEMFC is evaluated at elevated temperature and humidity. • Operating parameters are optimized using response surface methodology. • The optimal operating parameters are T = 90.6 °C, RH = 100.0%, and ζ = 2.07. • The power output and system efficiency are 1.28 W and 15.8% at the optimum. • The system efficiency can be effectively improved by increasing relative humidity. - Abstract: Humidification of the membrane is very important in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), to maintain high ionic conductivity. At an elevated temperature, a large amount of thermal energy is required for humidification because of the exponentially increased saturation vapor pressure. In this study, the system efficiency of a PEMFC was evaluated by considering the heat required for preheating/humidification and compression work. Three-dimensional steady-state simulations were conducted using Fluent 14 to simulate the electrochemical reactions. The operating conditions were optimized using response surface methodology by considering both the fuel cell output and system efficiency. In addition, the effects of operating parameters such as the temperature, relative humidity, and stoichiometric ratio were investigated. The system efficiency can be improved more effectively by increasing relative humidity rather than increasing operating temperature because the ionic conductivity of the membrane was strongly influenced by the relative humidity.

  11. Establishment and application of performance evaluation model for collection and transportation system of municipal solid waste

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    彭绪亚; 林晓东; 贾传兴; 王渝昆; 黄媛媛

    2009-01-01

    On the basis of analyzing the typical waste collection and transportation mode,the evaluation index system for performance of the waste collection and transportation system was proposed with three grades,which related to six factors,such as economic evaluation,high efficient evaluation,environmental impact assessment,resource evaluation,evaluation of security and emergency,evaluation of management and society. With the performance evaluation theory,the performance evaluation model of waste collection and transportation system was constructed,which quantified the grading standard of index and determined the index weight in analytic hierarchy process (AHP). After evaluating the waste collection and transportation system of the main districts of Chongqing city,the results show that the it has an excellent performance evaluation grade with very high performance level of three indices involving evaluation of management and society,environmental impact assessment,evaluation of security and emergency and quite low performance level of two indices that include high efficient evaluation and economic evaluation.

  12. A collective theory of happiness: words related to the word "happiness" in Swedish online newspapers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Danilo; Sikström, Sverker

    2013-06-01

    It may be suggested that the representation of happiness in online media is collective in nature because it is a picture of happiness communicated by relatively few individuals to the masses. The present study is based on articles published in Swedish daily online newspapers in 2010; the data corpus comprises 1.5 million words. We investigated which words were most (un)common in articles containing the word "happiness" as compared with articles not containing this word. The results show that words related to people (by use of all relevant pronouns: you/me and us/them); important others (e.g., grandmother, mother); the Swedish royal wedding (e.g., Prince Daniel, Princess Victoria); and the FIFA World Cup (e.g., Zlatan, Argentina, Drogba) were highly recurrent in articles containing the word happiness. In contrast, words related to objects, such as money (e.g., millions, billions), bestselling gadgets (e.g., iPad, iPhone), and companies (e.g., Google, Windows), were predictive of contexts not recurrent with the word happiness. The results presented here are in accordance with findings in the happiness literature showing that relationships, not material things, are what make people happy. We suggest that our findings mirror a collective theory of happiness, that is, a shared picture or agreement, among members of a community, concerning what makes people happy. The fact that this representation is made public on such a large scale makes it collective in nature.

  13. The efficiency of life insurance and family Takaful in Malaysia: Relative efficiency using the stochastic cost frontier analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baharin, Roziana; Isa, Zaidi

    2013-04-01

    This paper focuses on the Stochastic cost Frontier Analysis (SFA) approach, in an attempt to measure the relationship between efficiency and organizational structure for Takaful and insurance operators in Malaysia's dual financial system. This study applied a flexible cost functional form i.e., Fourier Flexible Functional Form, for a sample consisting of 19 firms, chosen between 2002 and 2010, by employing the Battese and Coelli invariant efficiency model. The findings show that on average, there is a significant difference in cost efficiency between the Takaful industry and the insurance industry. It was found that Takaful has lower cost efficiency than conventional insurance, which shows that the organization form has an influence on efficiency. Overall, it was observed that the level of efficiency scores for both life insurance and family Takaful do not vary across time.

  14. 78 FR 43003 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request on Information Collection Tools Relating to the Offshore...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-18

    ... information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506... accounts and undisclosed foreign entities to avoid or evade tax into compliance with United States tax laws... information unless the collection of information displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records...

  15. Relative thermoluminescent efficiencies proton/gamma and helium/gamma of peaks of high temperature in TLD-100 dosemeters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Flores M, E.

    2007-01-01

    The increase of the applications of ion beams in radiotherapy treatments has generated interest in the study of the thermoluminescent materials (TL) that allow to determine the applied doses. A way to quantify the TL response from these materials to ions is by means of the relative thermoluminescent efficiency. In the group of Thermoluminescent dosimetry of the Institute of Physics of the UNAM (IFUNAM) the thermoluminescent response of the TLD-100 dosemeters has been studied, which present a glow curve characteristic with several peaks that correspond to traps and luminescent centers in the material. The stable peaks know each other as 4, 5, 6a, 6b, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The efficiencies should be measured using the response so much to the radiation of interest (in this case protons and helium ions) as the response to gamma radiation. In previous works with ions of low energy taken place in the Pelletron accelerator of the IFUNAM was only measured the TL efficiency for the peak 5 and the total signal. It had not been possible to measure the efficiency of the peaks of high temperature (6a-10) because, for the gamma radiation, the peaks of high temperature show very small signals; however, recently Massillon carries out measures of efficiency TL of peaks of high temperature for ions of intermediate energy using a protocol special of reading and of deconvolution that allows to measure the signals coming from the peaks of high temperature. In this work is implemented this same protocol to complete the study of TL efficiencies at low energy of protons and helium and to determine if the values of efficiency depend on the used reading protocol. For it is reported it measures of the relative efficiency of the peaks of high temperature from the TLD-100 exposed to protons of 1.5 MeV and nuclei of helium of 3 and 7.5 MeV. (Author)

  16. Quantifying the isotopic composition of NOx emission sources: An analysis of collection methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fibiger, D.; Hastings, M.

    2012-04-01

    We analyze various collection methods for nitrogen oxides, NOx (NO2 and NO), used to evaluate the nitrogen isotopic composition (δ15N). Atmospheric NOx is a major contributor to acid rain deposition upon its conversion to nitric acid; it also plays a significant role in determining air quality through the production of tropospheric ozone. NOx is released by both anthropogenic (fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning, aircraft emissions) and natural (lightning, biogenic production in soils) sources. Global concentrations of NOx are rising because of increased anthropogenic emissions, while natural source emissions also contribute significantly to the global NOx burden. The contributions of both natural and anthropogenic sources and their considerable variability in space and time make it difficult to attribute local NOx concentrations (and, thus, nitric acid) to a particular source. Several recent studies suggest that variability in the isotopic composition of nitric acid deposition is related to variability in the isotopic signatures of NOx emission sources. Nevertheless, the isotopic composition of most NOx sources has not been thoroughly constrained. Ultimately, the direct capture and quantification of the nitrogen isotopic signatures of NOx sources will allow for the tracing of NOx emissions sources and their impact on environmental quality. Moreover, this will provide a new means by which to verify emissions estimates and atmospheric models. We present laboratory results of methods used for capturing NOx from air into solution. A variety of methods have been used in field studies, but no independent laboratory verification of the efficiencies of these methods has been performed. When analyzing isotopic composition, it is important that NOx be collected quantitatively or the possibility of fractionation must be constrained. We have found that collection efficiency can vary widely under different conditions in the laboratory and fractionation does not vary

  17. Relative Efficiency Indicators of the Credit Management Process in a Colombian Bank by Means of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

    OpenAIRE

    Sánchez-Gooding, Sandra Paola; Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Rodríguez-Lozano, Gloria Isabel; Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this work is to measure the relative efficiency of the units that take part in the credit management process in a Colombian bank by means of the use of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Using a doublé optimization process, this advanced linear programmingmethodology generates a single relative efficiency index for each one of the units being studied, although it is capable of including multiple resources and multiple outputs. In the bank that was used as the object of this study...

  18. Innovation in the collective brain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muthukrishna, Michael; Henrich, Joseph

    2016-01-01

    Innovation is often assumed to be the work of a talented few, whose products are passed on to the masses. Here, we argue that innovations are instead an emergent property of our species' cultural learning abilities, applied within our societies and social networks. Our societies and social networks act as collective brains. We outline how many human brains, which evolved primarily for the acquisition of culture, together beget a collective brain. Within these collective brains, the three main sources of innovation are serendipity, recombination and incremental improvement. We argue that rates of innovation are heavily influenced by (i) sociality, (ii) transmission fidelity, and (iii) cultural variance. We discuss some of the forces that affect these factors. These factors can also shape each other. For example, we provide preliminary evidence that transmission efficiency is affected by sociality—languages with more speakers are more efficient. We argue that collective brains can make each of their constituent cultural brains more innovative. This perspective sheds light on traits, such as IQ, that have been implicated in innovation. A collective brain perspective can help us understand otherwise puzzling findings in the IQ literature, including group differences, heritability differences and the dramatic increase in IQ test scores over time. PMID:26926282

  19. Collection of low resistivity fly ash in an electrostatic precipitator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jędrusik, M; Świerczok, A; Jaworek, A

    2013-01-01

    Due to increasing restrictions on dust emission limits (IED directive), particularly in the fine particle size range, wider application of electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) in cleaning the combustion gases from stoker boilers can be anticipated. The objective of the model studies in this paper was to select the optimal construction of the discharge electrode in ESP for obtaining high collection efficiency of fly ash leaving stoker boilers. In these studies a test bench was constructed, which comprised one-stage model ESPs with a set of discharge and collecting electrodes. The main dimensions of the precipitator chamber were as follows: length of electric field 2.0 m; active height 0.45 m and spacing between the collecting electrodes 0.4 m. Four constructions of discharge electrode were tested for fly ash of different fractional sizes and chemical compositions. The aim of the tests was to determine the current-voltage characteristics and the discharge current distribution on the collection electrode so as to find out the optimal construction and ensure the maximal collection efficiency of ESP. The results of the collection efficiency measurements in these tests were compared with those obtained from an ordinary industrial ESP. The comparison shows that it is necessary to optimise the discharge electrode construction for a specific physico-chemical property of fly ash so as to obtain the highest collection efficiency.

  20. Data collection using open access technology in multicentre operational research involving patient interviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shewade, H D; Chadha, S S; Gupta, V; Tripathy, J P; Satyanarayana, S; Sagili, K; Mohanty, S; Bera, O P; Pandey, P; Rajeswaran, P; Jayaraman, G; Santhappan, A; Bajpai, U N; Mamatha, A M; Maiser, R; Naqvi, A J; Pandurangan, S; Nath, S; Ghule, V H; Das, A; Prasad, B M; Biswas, M; Singh, G; Mallick, G; Jeyakumar Jaisingh, A J; Rao, R; Kumar, A M V

    2017-03-21

    Conducting multicentre operational research is challenging due to issues related to the logistics of travel, training, supervision, monitoring and troubleshooting support. This is even more burdensome in resource-constrained settings and if the research includes patient interviews. In this article, we describe an innovative model that uses open access tools such as Dropbox, TeamViewer and CamScanner for efficient, quality-assured data collection in an ongoing multicentre operational research study involving record review and patient interviews. The tools used for data collection have been shared for adaptation and use by other researchers.

  1. Feed efficiency, blood parameters, and ingestive behavior of young Nellore males and females.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonilha, Sarah Figueiredo Martins; Cyrillo, Joslaine Noely dos Santos Gonçalves; dos Santos, Guilherme Pinheiro; Branco, Renata Helena; Ribeiro, Enilson Geraldo; Mercadante, Maria Eugênia Zerlotti

    2015-10-01

    This study aimed to evaluate differences in efficiency of feed utilization between young Nellore males and females by comparing growth traits, feed intake, blood parameters, and ingestive behavior of the animals. Data from 768 Nellore males and females that participated in eight performance tests for individual feed intake evaluation were used. Performance and feed efficiency measures, efficiency-related hematological, metabolic and hormonal variables, and data regarding ingestive behavior were collected. Feed efficiency measures were defined by the relationship between performance and feed intake. Data were analyzed using mixed models that included the fixed effects of sex, herd, and the covariate age within sex and the random effects of facility within year, year, and residual. Significant differences between males and females were observed for traits related to weight gain and feed intake. Although individual dynamics of feed efficiency measures differed between males and females, no significant differences in residual feed intake, feed efficiency, or relative growth rate were observed between sexes. Significant differences between sexes were found for platelets, red blood cells, hemoglobin, creatinine, glucose, urea, triglycerides, insulin, cortisol, and IGF-I. Females spent more time feeding and less time ruminating when compared to males. However, males exhibited higher feeding efficiency and lower rumination efficiency than females. Growing Nellore males and females are efficient in feed utilization, and the differences in blood variables observed are probably due to differences in body size and feed intake. Males spend less time eating, consume more food, and spend more time ruminating than females.

  2. Markets, jobs, and energetic challenge of activities related to renewable energies and to energy efficiency. Situation in 2007-2008. Perspectives for 2009

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-10-01

    This study proposes an annual evolution survey of markets and jobs related to the development of renewable energies and to the improvement of energy efficiency in the housing and transport sectors. Markets are related to wind energy, thermal and photovoltaic energy, heat pumps, wood, bio-diesel, bio-ethanol, biogas, waste energetic valorization, geothermal energy, and hydro-energy. Energy efficiency improvements in the housing sector are related to energetic improvement of existing dwellings, condensing boilers, energetically performing household electrical appliances, and compact fluorescent lamps. In the transport sector, energy efficiency improvements concern rail transports and tramways as well as individual vehicles. New markets are identified and discussed: research and development for renewable energies, energy consultancy and diagnosis, energy efficiency in the office building sector and in the industrial sector

  3. Toward efficient computation of the expected relative entropy for nonlinear experimental design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coles, Darrell; Prange, Michael

    2012-01-01

    The expected relative entropy between prior and posterior model-parameter distributions is a Bayesian objective function in experimental design theory that quantifies the expected gain in information of an experiment relative to a previous state of knowledge. The expected relative entropy is a preferred measure of experimental quality because it can handle nonlinear data-model relationships, an important fact due to the ubiquity of nonlinearity in science and engineering and its effects on post-inversion parameter uncertainty. This objective function does not necessarily yield experiments that mediate well-determined systems, but, being a Bayesian quality measure, it rigorously accounts for prior information which constrains model parameters that may be only weakly constrained by the optimized dataset. Historically, use of the expected relative entropy has been limited by the computing and storage requirements associated with high-dimensional numerical integration. Herein, a bifocal algorithm is developed that makes these computations more efficient. The algorithm is demonstrated on a medium-sized problem of sampling relaxation phenomena and on a large problem of source–receiver selection for a 2D vertical seismic profile. The method is memory intensive but workarounds are discussed. (paper)

  4. 78 FR 75925 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-13

    ... hospital care. A well-educated consumer is essential to improving the quality and efficiency of the...) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) the use... commenting, please reference the document identifier or OMB control number (OCN). To be assured consideration...

  5. Are large farms more efficient? Tenure security, farm size and farm efficiency: evidence from northeast China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yuepeng; Ma, Xianlei; Shi, Xiaoping

    2017-04-01

    How to increase production efficiency, guarantee grain security, and increase farmers' income using the limited farmland is a great challenge that China is facing. Although theory predicts that secure property rights and moderate scale management of farmland can increase land productivity, reduce farm-related costs, and raise farmer's income, empirical studies on the size and magnitude of these effects are scarce. A number of studies have examined the impacts of land tenure or farm size on productivity or efficiency, respectively. There are also a few studies linking farm size, land tenure and efficiency together. However, to our best knowledge, there are no studies considering tenure security and farm efficiency together for different farm scales in China. In addition, there is little study analyzing the profit frontier. In this study, we particularly focus on the impacts of land tenure security and farm size on farm profit efficiency, using farm level data collected from 23 villages, 811 households in Liaoning in 2015. 7 different farm scales have been identified to further represent small farms, median farms, moderate-scale farms, and large farms. Technical efficiency is analyzed with stochastic frontier production function. The profit efficiency is regressed on a set of explanatory variables which includes farm size dummies, land tenure security indexes, and household characteristics. We found that: 1) The technical efficiency scores for production efficiency (average score = 0.998) indicate that it is already very close to the production frontier, and thus there is little room to improve production efficiency. However, there is larger space to raise profit efficiency (average score = 0.768) by investing more on farm size expansion, seed, hired labor, pesticide, and irrigation. 2) Farms between 50-80 mu are most efficient from the viewpoint of profit efficiency. The so-called moderate-scale farms (100-150 mu) according to the governmental guideline show no

  6. Natural gas and CO2 price variation: impact on the relative cost-efficiency of LNG and pipelines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ulvestad, Marte; Overland, Indra

    2012-06-01

    THIS ARTICLE DEVELOPS A FORMAL MODEL FOR COMPARING THE COST STRUCTURE OF THE TWO MAIN TRANSPORT OPTIONS FOR NATURAL GAS: liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipelines. In particular, it evaluates how variations in the prices of natural gas and greenhouse gas emissions affect the relative cost-efficiency of these two options. Natural gas is often promoted as the most environmentally friendly of all fossil fuels, and LNG as a modern and efficient way of transporting it. Some research has been carried out into the local environmental impact of LNG facilities, but almost none into aspects related to climate change. This paper concludes that at current price levels for natural gas and CO 2 emissions the distance from field to consumer and the volume of natural gas transported are the main determinants of transport costs. The pricing of natural gas and greenhouse emissions influence the relative cost-efficiency of LNG and pipeline transport, but only to a limited degree at current price levels. Because more energy is required for the LNG process (especially for fuelling the liquefaction process) than for pipelines at distances below 9100 km, LNG is more exposed to variability in the price of natural gas and greenhouse gas emissions up to this distance. If the prices of natural gas and/or greenhouse gas emission rise dramatically in the future, this will affect the choice between pipelines and LNG. Such a price increase will be favourable for pipelines relative to LNG.

  7. Efficiencies of Tritium (3H) bubbling systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duda, Jean-Marie; Le Goff, Pierre; Leblois, Yoan; Ponsard, Samuel

    2018-09-01

    Bubbling systems are among the devices most used by nuclear operators to measure atmospheric tritium activity in their facilities or the neighbouring environment. However, information about trapping efficiency and bubbling system oxidation is not accessible and/or, at best, only minimally supported by demonstrations in actual operating conditions. In order to evaluate easily these parameters and thereby meet actual normative and regulatory requirements, a statistical study was carried out over 2000 monitoring records from the CEA Valduc site. From this data collection obtained over recent years of monitoring the CEA Valduc facilities and environment, a direct relation was highlighted between the 3H-samplers trapping efficiency of tritium as tritiated water and the sampling time and conditions of use: temperature and atmospheric moisture. It was thus demonstrated that this efficiency originated from two sources. The first one is intrinsic to the bubbling system operating parameters and the sampling time. That part applies equally to all four bubblers. The second part, however, is specific to the first bubbler. In essence, it depends on the sampling time and the sampled air characteristics. It was also highlighted that the water volume variation in the first bubbler, between the beginning and the end of the sampling process, is directly related to the average water concentration of the sampled air. In this way, it was possible to model the variations in trapping efficiency of the 3H-samplers relative to the sampling time and the water volume variation in the first bubbler. This model makes it possible to obtain the quantities required to comply with the current standards governing the monitoring of radionuclides in the environment and to associate an uncertainty concerning the measurements as well as the sampling parameters. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Technical note: A simple approach for efficient collection of field reference data for calibrating remote sensing mapping of northern wetlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Gålfalk

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The calibration and validation of remote sensing land cover products are highly dependent on accurate field reference data, which are costly and practically challenging to collect. We describe an optical method for collection of field reference data that is a fast, cost-efficient, and robust alternative to field surveys and UAV imaging. A lightweight, waterproof, remote-controlled RGB camera (GoPro HERO4 Silver, GoPro Inc. was used to take wide-angle images from 3.1 to 4.5 m in altitude using an extendable monopod, as well as representative near-ground (< 1 m images to identify spectral and structural features that correspond to various land covers in present lighting conditions. A semi-automatic classification was made based on six surface types (graminoids, water, shrubs, dry moss, wet moss, and rock. The method enables collection of detailed field reference data, which is critical in many remote sensing applications, such as satellite-based wetland mapping. The method uses common non-expensive equipment, does not require special skills or training, and is facilitated by a step-by-step manual that is included in the Supplement. Over time a global ground cover database can be built that can be used as reference data for studies of non-forested wetlands from satellites such as Sentinel 1 and 2 (10 m pixel size.

  9. Productivity Change, Technical Progress, and Relative Efficiency Change in the Public Accounting Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Rajiv D. Banker; Hsihui Chang; Ram Natarajan

    2005-01-01

    We present evidence on components of productivity change in the public accounting industry toward the end of the 20th century. Using revenue and human resource data from 64 of the 100 largest public accounting firms in the United States for the 1995--1999 period, we analyze productivity change, technical progress, and relative efficiency change over time. The average public accounting firm experienced a productivity growth of 9.5% between 1995 and 1999. We find support for the hypothesis that...

  10. Nonlinear effects in collective absorption

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uenoyama, Takeshi; Mima, Kunioki; Watanabe, Tsuguhiro.

    1981-01-01

    The collective absorption of high intensity laser radiation is analyzed numerically. Density profile modification due to the ponderomotive force associating laser radiation and the excited electron plasma waves is self-consistently taken into account, and the intensity dependences of the absorption efficiency are obtained. In the high intensity regime, the absorption efficiency is found to be strongly enhanced in the plasma without flow, but reduced with supersonic flow. (author)

  11. 78 FR 5828 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Petition To Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-28

    ...-0028] Agency Information Collection Activities: Petition To Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, Form I-600; Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, Form I-600A; Listing of Adult Member... are encouraged and will be accepted until February 27, 2013. This process is conducted in accordance...

  12. Efficiency model of Russian banks

    OpenAIRE

    Pavlyuk, Dmitry

    2006-01-01

    The article deals with problems related to the stochastic frontier model of bank efficiency measurement. The model is used to study the efficiency of the banking sector of The Russian Federation. It is based on the stochastic approach both to the efficiency frontier location and to individual bank efficiency values. The model allows estimating bank efficiency values, finding relations with different macro- and microeconomic factors and testing some economic hypotheses.

  13. Comparison of Relative Bias, Precision, and Efficiency of Sampling Methods for Natural Enemies of Soybean Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bannerman, J A; Costamagna, A C; McCornack, B P; Ragsdale, D W

    2015-06-01

    Generalist natural enemies play an important role in controlling soybean aphid, Aphis glycines (Hemiptera: Aphididae), in North America. Several sampling methods are used to monitor natural enemy populations in soybean, but there has been little work investigating their relative bias, precision, and efficiency. We compare five sampling methods: quadrats, whole-plant counts, sweep-netting, walking transects, and yellow sticky cards to determine the most practical methods for sampling the three most prominent species, which included Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), Coccinella septempunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), and Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae). We show an important time by sampling method interaction indicated by diverging community similarities within and between sampling methods as the growing season progressed. Similarly, correlations between sampling methods for the three most abundant species over multiple time periods indicated differences in relative bias between sampling methods and suggests that bias is not consistent throughout the growing season, particularly for sticky cards and whole-plant samples. Furthermore, we show that sticky cards produce strongly biased capture rates relative to the other four sampling methods. Precision and efficiency differed between sampling methods and sticky cards produced the most precise (but highly biased) results for adult natural enemies, while walking transects and whole-plant counts were the most efficient methods for detecting coccinellids and O. insidiosus, respectively. Based on bias, precision, and efficiency considerations, the most practical sampling methods for monitoring in soybean include walking transects for coccinellid detection and whole-plant counts for detection of small predators like O. insidiosus. Sweep-netting and quadrat samples are also useful for some applications, when efficiency is not paramount. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of

  14. Natural Gas and CO2 Price Variation: Impact on the Relative Cost-Efficiency of LNG and Pipelines

    OpenAIRE

    Øverland, Indra; Ulvestad, Marte

    2012-01-01

    This article develops a formal model for comparing the cost structure of the two main transport options for natural gas: liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipelines. In particular, it evaluates how variations in the prices of natural gas and greenhouse gas emissions affect the relative cost-efficiency of these two options. Natural gas is often promoted as the most environmentally friendly of all fossil fuels, and LNG as a modern and efficient way of transporting it. Some research has been carri...

  15. Input-output relation and energy efficiency in the neuron with different spike threshold dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Guo-Sheng; Wang, Jiang; Tsang, Kai-Ming; Wei, Xi-Le; Deng, Bin

    2015-01-01

    Neuron encodes and transmits information through generating sequences of output spikes, which is a high energy-consuming process. The spike is initiated when membrane depolarization reaches a threshold voltage. In many neurons, threshold is dynamic and depends on the rate of membrane depolarization (dV/dt) preceding a spike. Identifying the metabolic energy involved in neural coding and their relationship to threshold dynamic is critical to understanding neuronal function and evolution. Here, we use a modified Morris-Lecar model to investigate neuronal input-output property and energy efficiency associated with different spike threshold dynamics. We find that the neurons with dynamic threshold sensitive to dV/dt generate discontinuous frequency-current curve and type II phase response curve (PRC) through Hopf bifurcation, and weak noise could prohibit spiking when bifurcation just occurs. The threshold that is insensitive to dV/dt, instead, results in a continuous frequency-current curve, a type I PRC and a saddle-node on invariant circle bifurcation, and simultaneously weak noise cannot inhibit spiking. It is also shown that the bifurcation, frequency-current curve and PRC type associated with different threshold dynamics arise from the distinct subthreshold interactions of membrane currents. Further, we observe that the energy consumption of the neuron is related to its firing characteristics. The depolarization of spike threshold improves neuronal energy efficiency by reducing the overlap of Na(+) and K(+) currents during an action potential. The high energy efficiency is achieved at more depolarized spike threshold and high stimulus current. These results provide a fundamental biophysical connection that links spike threshold dynamics, input-output relation, energetics and spike initiation, which could contribute to uncover neural encoding mechanism.

  16. Household lifestyle, energy related practices and perceptions of energy efficiency: Evidence from Kitwe, Zambia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lilias Makashini

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Southern Africa is noted for not only constant power shortages but also poor access to electricity. In Zambia, for example, 75% of the population does not have access to electricity. This is partly because although Zambia has one of the lowest energy tariffs in Southern Africa, when compared with household monthly income, the resource is still reasonably unaffordable. Therefore, there is need to find innovative ways of reducing energy cost. Recent studies have indicated that there are patterns that show that there is a relationship between households' lifestyles and energy consumption. This means that understanding household lifestyles and how that impacts on energy use would be crucial in helping occupants to change their behaviours. This would result in the minimisation of energy consumption and thus a reduction in energy bills. However, there is a dearth of scholarly literature about households' lifestyles and their impacts on energy consumption in most developing countries including Zambia. This study investigates the perceptions of different lifestyles on household energy consumption and knowledge about energy efficiency in the city of Kitwe, the second largest city in Zambia. Motivation and barriers to energy efficiency have also been investigated. To achieve this, a mixed research approach was adopted. Firstly, a quantitative closed structured questionnaire instrument was used to collect data from 59 households in Kitwe. Secondly, mini-focus group discussions (average size of 5 ― brought about by the curiosity of residents and hence the contribution as families per household ― were undertaken in the informal settlement. The major findings are that households are generally motivated to implement energy saving strategies like covering pots when cooking, switching off lights in rooms that are not in use and that more information is needed as lack of knowledge and ‘landlord control' were identified as some of the barriers to energy

  17. Cascading value: the true value of advanced data collection solutions can be found in the information

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neilson, R.D.

    1999-01-01

    Utilities and other energy related businesses are still trying to find the right gear on the road to realizing the full value potential of the information they collect and manage. The energy industry as a whole has yet to discover the true value of a commodity that is very available in its own backyard, while other companies have done so. By deploying advanced technology, energy related companies are able to collect advanced metering information and put it to use in ways never imagined a decade two or ago. Utilities and their clients can use this information to run their businesses more efficiently or market new valued added products and services to customers. The best vantage point from which to understand and appreciate the new value proposition for meter data and energy use information is to divide the meter into two parts: the client side and the utility side. Breaking it down even further, each side presents two areas of opportunity: the first of which covers applications and practices which enable a utility or client to manage itself better as a business, while the second area covers opportunities to develop and market new services to clients. An account is given of these areas and of how utilizing advanced data collection technology to gather daily, interval and off-schedule reads, along with outage and power quality data, can dramatically extend and increase the value of meter data they collect. By collecting sophisticated energy use data more frequently and efficiently than ever before, today's data collection solutions have transformed this value proposition into bottom-line reality

  18. Developing a Collection of Composable Data Translation Software Units to Improve Efficiency and Reproducibility in Ecohydrologic Modeling Workflows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olschanowsky, C.; Flores, A. N.; FitzGerald, K.; Masarik, M. T.; Rudisill, W. J.; Aguayo, M.

    2017-12-01

    Dynamic models of the spatiotemporal evolution of water, energy, and nutrient cycling are important tools to assess impacts of climate and other environmental changes on ecohydrologic systems. These models require spatiotemporally varying environmental forcings like precipitation, temperature, humidity, windspeed, and solar radiation. These input data originate from a variety of sources, including global and regional weather and climate models, global and regional reanalysis products, and geostatistically interpolated surface observations. Data translation measures, often subsetting in space and/or time and transforming and converting variable units, represent a seemingly mundane, but critical step in the application workflows. Translation steps can introduce errors, misrepresentations of data, slow execution time, and interrupt data provenance. We leverage a workflow that subsets a large regional dataset derived from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and prepares inputs to the Parflow integrated hydrologic model to demonstrate the impact translation tool software quality on scientific workflow results and performance. We propose that such workflows will benefit from a community approved collection of data transformation components. The components should be self-contained composable units of code. This design pattern enables automated parallelization and software verification, improving performance and reliability. Ensuring that individual translation components are self-contained and target minute tasks increases reliability. The small code size of each component enables effective unit and regression testing. The components can be automatically composed for efficient execution. An efficient data translation framework should be written to minimize data movement. Composing components within a single streaming process reduces data movement. Each component will typically have a low arithmetic intensity, meaning that it requires about the same number of

  19. Examining the relation between intangible assets and technical efficiency in the international textile and clothing industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kapelko, M.; Oude Lansink, A.G.J.M.

    2014-01-01

    The resource-based view of the firm suggests that intangible assets have a positive impact on firm performance. This study examined the relation between intangible assets and technical efficiency of textile and clothing firms. A double bootstrap data envelopment analysis approach was used to measure

  20. Thermoluminescent relative efficiencies of TLD-100 for nitrogen ions respect of gamma radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Concha S, K.; Avila, O.; Gamboa de Buen, I.; Rodriguez V, M.; Buenfil, A.E.; Ruiz T, C.; Brandan, M.E.

    2004-01-01

    The purpose of this work is to measure the thermoluminescent relative efficiency of those TLD-100 dosemeters irradiated with nitrogen ions with respect to the gamma radiation of 60 Co, in function of the linear energy transfer (LET). Two energy of such nitrogen ions were selected that has the same value from LET when impacting in the dosemeters but with E 1 energy (4.8 MeV) and E 2 (9.95 MeV) smaller and greater respectively that the energy of the Bragg peak. (Author)

  1. Phosphorus Acquisition Efficiency Related to Root Traits: Is Mycorrhizal Symbiosis a Key Factor to Wheat and Barley Cropping?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campos, Pedro; Borie, Fernando; Cornejo, Pablo; López-Ráez, Juan A.; López-García, Álvaro; Seguel, Alex

    2018-01-01

    Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) are major crops cultivated around the world, thus playing a crucial role on human diet. Remarkably, the growing human population requires a significant increase in agricultural production in order to feed everybody. In this context, phosphorus (P) management is a key factor as it is component of organic molecules such as nucleic acids, ATP and phospholipids, and it is the most abundant macronutrient in biomass after nitrogen (N), although being one of the scarcest elements in the lithosphere. In general, P fertilization has low efficiency, as only a fraction of the applied P is acquired by roots, leaving a substantial amount to be accumulated in soil as not readily available P. Breeding for P-efficient cultivars is a relatively low cost alternative and can be done through two mechanisms: i) improving P use efficiency (PUE), and/or ii) P acquisition efficiency (PAE). PUE is related to the internal allocation/mobilization of P, and is usually represented by the amount of P accumulated per biomass. PAE relies on roots ability to acquire P from the soil, and is commonly expressed as the relative difference of P acquired under low and high P availability conditions. In this review, plant adaptations related to improved PAE are described, with emphasis on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis, which is generally accepted to enhance plant P acquisition. A state of the art (1980–2018) of AM growth responses and P uptake in wheat and barley is made to discuss about the commonly accepted growth promoting effect and P increased uptake by AM fungi and the contrasting evidence about the generally accepted lack of positive responses in both plant species. Finally, the mechanisms by which AM symbiosis can affect wheat and barley PAE are discussed, highlighting the importance of considering AM functional diversity on future studies and the necessity to improve PAE definition by considering the carbon trading between

  2. Energy efficiency and behaviour

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carstensen, Trine Agervig; Kunnasvirta, Annika; Kiviluoto, Katariina

    separate key aspects hinders strategic energy efficiency planning. For this reason, the PLEEC project – “Planning for Energy Efficient Cities” – funded by the EU Seventh Framework Programme uses an integrative approach to achieve the sus‐ tainable, energy– efficient, smart city. By coordinating strategies...... to conduct behavioural interventions, to be presented in Deliverable 5.5., the final report. This report will also provide valuable information for the WP6 general model for an Energy-Smart City. Altogether 38 behavioural interventions are analysed in this report. Each collected and analysed case study...... of the European Union’s 20‐20‐20 plan is to improve energy efficiency by 20% in 2020. However, holistic knowledge about energy efficiency potentials in cities is far from complete. Currently, a WP4 location in PLEEC project page 3 variety of individual strategies and approaches by different stakeholders tackling...

  3. Energy Efficiency Collaboratives

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Michael [US Department of Energy, Washington, DC (United States); Bryson, Joe [US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (United States)

    2015-09-01

    Collaboratives for energy efficiency have a long and successful history and are currently used, in some form, in more than half of the states. Historically, many state utility commissions have used some form of collaborative group process to resolve complex issues that emerge during a rate proceeding. Rather than debate the issues through the formality of a commission proceeding, disagreeing parties are sent to discuss issues in a less-formal setting and bring back resolutions to the commission. Energy efficiency collaboratives take this concept and apply it specifically to energy efficiency programs—often in anticipation of future issues as opposed to reacting to a present disagreement. Energy efficiency collaboratives can operate long term and can address the full suite of issues associated with designing, implementing, and improving energy efficiency programs. Collaboratives can be useful to gather stakeholder input on changing program budgets and program changes in response to performance or market shifts, as well as to provide continuity while regulators come and go, identify additional energy efficiency opportunities and innovations, assess the role of energy efficiency in new regulatory contexts, and draw on lessons learned and best practices from a diverse group. Details about specific collaboratives in the United States are in the appendix to this guide. Collectively, they demonstrate the value of collaborative stakeholder processes in producing successful energy efficiency programs.

  4. Genetic Variation of Morphological Traits and Transpiration in an Apple Core Collection under Well-Watered Conditions: Towards the Identification of Morphotypes with High Water Use Efficiency.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerardo Lopez

    Full Text Available Water use efficiency (WUE is a quantitative measurement which improvement is a major issue in the context of global warming and restrictions in water availability for agriculture. In this study, we aimed at studying the variation and genetic control of WUE and the respective role of its components (plant biomass and transpiration in a perennial fruit crop. We explored an INRA apple core collection grown in a phenotyping platform to screen one-year-old scions for their accumulated biomass, transpiration and WUE under optimal growing conditions. Plant biomass was decompose into morphological components related to either growth or organ expansion. For each trait, nine mixed models were evaluated to account for the genetic effect and spatial heterogeneity inside the platform. The Best Linear Unbiased Predictors of genetic values were estimated after model selection. Mean broad-sense heritabilities were calculated from variance estimates. Heritability values indicated that biomass (0.76 and WUE (0.73 were under genetic control. This genetic control was lower in plant transpiration with an heritability of 0.54. Across the collection, biomass accounted for 70% of the WUE variability. A Hierarchical Ascendant Classification of the core collection indicated the existence of six groups of genotypes with contrasting morphology and WUE. Differences between morphotypes were interpreted as resulting from differences in the main processes responsible for plant growth: cell division leading to the generation of new organs and cell elongation leading to organ dimension. Although further studies will be necessary on mature trees with more complex architecture and multiple sinks such as fruits, this study is a first step for improving apple plant material for the use of water.

  5. Genetic Variation of Morphological Traits and Transpiration in an Apple Core Collection under Well-Watered Conditions: Towards the Identification of Morphotypes with High Water Use Efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez, Gerardo; Pallas, Benoît; Martinez, Sébastien; Lauri, Pierre-Éric; Regnard, Jean-Luc; Durel, Charles-Éric; Costes, Evelyne

    2015-01-01

    Water use efficiency (WUE) is a quantitative measurement which improvement is a major issue in the context of global warming and restrictions in water availability for agriculture. In this study, we aimed at studying the variation and genetic control of WUE and the respective role of its components (plant biomass and transpiration) in a perennial fruit crop. We explored an INRA apple core collection grown in a phenotyping platform to screen one-year-old scions for their accumulated biomass, transpiration and WUE under optimal growing conditions. Plant biomass was decompose into morphological components related to either growth or organ expansion. For each trait, nine mixed models were evaluated to account for the genetic effect and spatial heterogeneity inside the platform. The Best Linear Unbiased Predictors of genetic values were estimated after model selection. Mean broad-sense heritabilities were calculated from variance estimates. Heritability values indicated that biomass (0.76) and WUE (0.73) were under genetic control. This genetic control was lower in plant transpiration with an heritability of 0.54. Across the collection, biomass accounted for 70% of the WUE variability. A Hierarchical Ascendant Classification of the core collection indicated the existence of six groups of genotypes with contrasting morphology and WUE. Differences between morphotypes were interpreted as resulting from differences in the main processes responsible for plant growth: cell division leading to the generation of new organs and cell elongation leading to organ dimension. Although further studies will be necessary on mature trees with more complex architecture and multiple sinks such as fruits, this study is a first step for improving apple plant material for the use of water.

  6. 76 FR 81014 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Generic Clearance...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-27

    ... information collection activity will garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient... be generalized to the population of study. This feedback will provide insights into customer or... communications between the Agency and its customers and stakeholders. It will also allow feedback to contribute...

  7. Leveraging High Performance Computing for Managing Large and Evolving Data Collections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ritu Arora

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The process of developing a digital collection in the context of a research project often involves a pipeline pattern during which data growth, data types, and data authenticity need to be assessed iteratively in relation to the different research steps and in the interest of archiving. Throughout a project’s lifecycle curators organize newly generated data while cleaning and integrating legacy data when it exists, and deciding what data will be preserved for the long term. Although these actions should be part of a well-oiled data management workflow, there are practical challenges in doing so if the collection is very large and heterogeneous, or is accessed by several researchers contemporaneously. There is a need for data management solutions that can help curators with efficient and on-demand analyses of their collection so that they remain well-informed about its evolving characteristics. In this paper, we describe our efforts towards developing a workflow to leverage open science High Performance Computing (HPC resources for routinely and efficiently conducting data management tasks on large collections. We demonstrate that HPC resources and techniques can significantly reduce the time for accomplishing critical data management tasks, and enable a dynamic archiving throughout the research process. We use a large archaeological data collection with a long and complex formation history as our test case. We share our experiences in adopting open science HPC resources for large-scale data management, which entails understanding usage of the open source HPC environment and training users. These experiences can be generalized to meet the needs of other data curators working with large collections.

  8. Analysis of data collected from right and left limbs: Accounting for dependence and improving statistical efficiency in musculoskeletal research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Sarah; Pearson, Janet; Rome, Keith; Dalbeth, Nicola; Vandal, Alain C

    2018-01-01

    Statistical techniques currently used in musculoskeletal research often inefficiently account for paired-limb measurements or the relationship between measurements taken from multiple regions within limbs. This study compared three commonly used analysis methods with a mixed-models approach that appropriately accounted for the association between limbs, regions, and trials and that utilised all information available from repeated trials. Four analysis were applied to an existing data set containing plantar pressure data, which was collected for seven masked regions on right and left feet, over three trials, across three participant groups. Methods 1-3 averaged data over trials and analysed right foot data (Method 1), data from a randomly selected foot (Method 2), and averaged right and left foot data (Method 3). Method 4 used all available data in a mixed-effects regression that accounted for repeated measures taken for each foot, foot region and trial. Confidence interval widths for the mean differences between groups for each foot region were used as a criterion for comparison of statistical efficiency. Mean differences in pressure between groups were similar across methods for each foot region, while the confidence interval widths were consistently smaller for Method 4. Method 4 also revealed significant between-group differences that were not detected by Methods 1-3. A mixed effects linear model approach generates improved efficiency and power by producing more precise estimates compared to alternative approaches that discard information in the process of accounting for paired-limb measurements. This approach is recommended in generating more clinically sound and statistically efficient research outputs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. How to harvest efficient laser from solar light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Changming; Guan, Zhe; Zhang, Haiyang

    2018-02-01

    Solar Pumped Solid State Lasers (SPSSL) is a kind of solid state lasers that can transform solar light into laser directly, with the advantages of least energy transform procedure, higher energy transform efficiency, simpler structure, higher reliability, and longer lifetime, which is suitable for use in unmanned space system, for solar light is the only form of energy source in space. In order to increase the output power and improve the efficiency of SPSSL, we conducted intensive studies on the suitable laser material selection for solar pump, high efficiency/large aperture focusing optical system, the optimization of concave cavity as the second focusing system, laser material bonding and surface processing. Using bonded and grooved Nd:YAG rod as laser material, large aperture Fresnel lens as the first stage focusing element, concave cavity as the second stage focusing element, we finally got 32.1W/m2 collection efficiency, which is the highest collection efficiency in the world up to now.

  10. Self-esteem and subjective well-being revisited: The roles of personal, relational, and collective self-esteem.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongfei Du

    Full Text Available Previous studies have shown that self-esteem is an important predictor of subjective well-being. However, the majority of research has focused on self-esteem at the individual and the collective level, but has mostly ignored self-esteem at the relational level. According to social identity theory, individuals can maintain and enhance self-esteem through personal traits (personal self-esteem, PSE, relationships with significant others (relational self-esteem, RSE, and relationships with larger groups (collective self-esteem, CSE. The current research investigated whether RSE and CSE can predict subjective well-being beyond PSE among Chinese college students. With four cross-sectional studies and one longitudinal study (N = 847, we found that, when controlling for PSE, RSE was associated with greater life satisfaction, positive affect, meaning in life, happiness, and subjective vitality (Studies 1-5, but CSE was not (Studies 2-5. Implications are discussed.

  11. Self-esteem and subjective well-being revisited: The roles of personal, relational, and collective self-esteem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Hongfei; King, Ronnel B; Chi, Peilian

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have shown that self-esteem is an important predictor of subjective well-being. However, the majority of research has focused on self-esteem at the individual and the collective level, but has mostly ignored self-esteem at the relational level. According to social identity theory, individuals can maintain and enhance self-esteem through personal traits (personal self-esteem, PSE), relationships with significant others (relational self-esteem, RSE), and relationships with larger groups (collective self-esteem, CSE). The current research investigated whether RSE and CSE can predict subjective well-being beyond PSE among Chinese college students. With four cross-sectional studies and one longitudinal study (N = 847), we found that, when controlling for PSE, RSE was associated with greater life satisfaction, positive affect, meaning in life, happiness, and subjective vitality (Studies 1-5), but CSE was not (Studies 2-5). Implications are discussed.

  12. Self-esteem and subjective well-being revisited: The roles of personal, relational, and collective self-esteem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Hongfei; King, Ronnel B.; Chi, Peilian

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have shown that self-esteem is an important predictor of subjective well-being. However, the majority of research has focused on self-esteem at the individual and the collective level, but has mostly ignored self-esteem at the relational level. According to social identity theory, individuals can maintain and enhance self-esteem through personal traits (personal self-esteem, PSE), relationships with significant others (relational self-esteem, RSE), and relationships with larger groups (collective self-esteem, CSE). The current research investigated whether RSE and CSE can predict subjective well-being beyond PSE among Chinese college students. With four cross-sectional studies and one longitudinal study (N = 847), we found that, when controlling for PSE, RSE was associated with greater life satisfaction, positive affect, meaning in life, happiness, and subjective vitality (Studies 1–5), but CSE was not (Studies 2–5). Implications are discussed. PMID:28841716

  13. Self-esteem and subjective well-being revisited: The roles of personal, relational, and collective self-esteem

    OpenAIRE

    Du, Hongfei; King, Ronnel B.; Chi, Peilian

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have shown that self-esteem is an important predictor of subjective well-being. However, the majority of research has focused on self-esteem at the individual and the collective level, but has mostly ignored self-esteem at the relational level. According to social identity theory, individuals can maintain and enhance self-esteem through personal traits (personal self-esteem, PSE), relationships with significant others (relational self-esteem, RSE), and relationships with larg...

  14. Characteristics Study of Photovoltaic Thermal System with Emphasis on Energy Efficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yong Chuah Yee

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Solar energy is typically collected through photovoltaic (PV to generate electricity or through thermal collectors as heat energy, they are generally utilised separately. This project is done with the purpose of integrating the two systems to improve the energy efficiency. The idea of this photovoltaic-thermal (PVT setup design is to simultaneously cool the PV panel so it can operate at a lower temperature thus higher electrical efficiency and also store the thermal energy. The experimental data shows that the PVT setup increased the electrical efficiency of the standard PV setup from 1.64% to 2.15%. The integration of the thermal collector also allowed 37.25% of solar energy to be stored as thermal energy. The standard PV setup harnessed only 1.64% of the solar energy, whereas the PVT setup achieved 39.4%. Different flowrates were tested to determine its effects on the PVT setup’s electrical and thermal efficiency. The various flowrate does not significantly impact the electrical efficiency since it did not significantly impact the cooling of the panel. The various flowrates resulted in fluctuating thermal efficiencies, the relation between the two is inconclusive in this project.

  15. The MARINA Risk Assessment Strategy: A Flexible Strategy for Efficient Information Collection and Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bos, Peter M J; Gottardo, Stefania; Scott-Fordsmand, Janeck J; van Tongeren, Martie; Semenzin, Elena; Fernandes, Teresa F; Hristozov, Danail; Hund-Rinke, Kerstin; Hunt, Neil; Irfan, Muhammad-Adeel; Landsiedel, Robert; Peijnenburg, Willie J G M; Sánchez Jiménez, Araceli; van Kesteren, Petra C E; Oomen, Agnes G

    2015-11-27

    An engineered nanomaterial (ENM) may actually consist of a population of primary particles, aggregates and agglomerates of various sizes. Furthermore, their physico-chemical characteristics may change during the various life-cycle stages. It will probably not be feasible to test all varieties of all ENMs for possible health and environmental risks. There is therefore a need to further develop the approaches for risk assessment of ENMs. Within the EU FP7 project Managing Risks of Nanoparticles (MARINA) a two-phase risk assessment strategy has been developed. In Phase 1 (Problem framing) a base set of information is considered, relevant exposure scenarios (RESs) are identified and the scope for Phase 2 (Risk assessment) is established. The relevance of an RES is indicated by information on exposure, fate/kinetics and/or hazard; these three domains are included as separate pillars that contain specific tools. Phase 2 consists of an iterative process of risk characterization, identification of data needs and integrated collection and evaluation of data on the three domains, until sufficient information is obtained to conclude on possible risks in a RES. Only data are generated that are considered to be needed for the purpose of risk assessment. A fourth pillar, risk characterization, is defined and it contains risk assessment tools. This strategy describes a flexible and efficient approach for data collection and risk assessment which is essential to ensure safety of ENMs. Further developments are needed to provide guidance and make the MARINA Risk Assessment Strategy operational. Case studies will be needed to refine the strategy.

  16. The MARINA Risk Assessment Strategy: A Flexible Strategy for Efficient Information Collection and Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter M. J. Bos

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available An engineered nanomaterial (ENM may actually consist of a population of primary particles, aggregates and agglomerates of various sizes. Furthermore, their physico-chemical characteristics may change during the various life-cycle stages. It will probably not be feasible to test all varieties of all ENMs for possible health and environmental risks. There is therefore a need to further develop the approaches for risk assessment of ENMs. Within the EU FP7 project Managing Risks of Nanoparticles (MARINA a two-phase risk assessment strategy has been developed. In Phase 1 (Problem framing a base set of information is considered, relevant exposure scenarios (RESs are identified and the scope for Phase 2 (Risk assessment is established. The relevance of an RES is indicated by information on exposure, fate/kinetics and/or hazard; these three domains are included as separate pillars that contain specific tools. Phase 2 consists of an iterative process of risk characterization, identification of data needs and integrated collection and evaluation of data on the three domains, until sufficient information is obtained to conclude on possible risks in a RES. Only data are generated that are considered to be needed for the purpose of risk assessment. A fourth pillar, risk characterization, is defined and it contains risk assessment tools. This strategy describes a flexible and efficient approach for data collection and risk assessment which is essential to ensure safety of ENMs. Further developments are needed to provide guidance and make the MARINA Risk Assessment Strategy operational. Case studies will be needed to refine the strategy.

  17. Mesh Intercomparisons of Fog Water Collected Yield Insight Into the Nature of Fog-Drip Collection Mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez, D.; Torregrosa, A.; Weiss-Penzias, P. S.; Oliphant, A. J.; Dodge, C.; Bowman, M.; Wilson, S.; Mairs, A. A.; Gravelle, M.; Barkley, T.

    2016-12-01

    At multiple sites across central CA, several passive fog water collectors have been deployed for the past 3 years. All of the sites employ standard Raschel polypropylene mesh as the fog collection medium and five of them also integrated a novel polypropylene mesh of German manufacture with a 3-dimensional internal structure. Additionally, six metal mesh manufactured by McMaster-Carr of various hole sizing were coated with a POSS-PEMA substance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and deployed in parallel with the Raschel mesh at six distinct locations. Finally, fluorine-free versions of the POSS-PEMA substance were generated by NBD Nanotechnology and coated on a much finer mesh substrate. Three of those and one control (uncoated mesh) were deployed at one of the fog collection sites for one season, along with a standard Raschel mesh. Preliminary results from one intercomparison from just one pair of mesh over two seasons seem to reveal a wind speed and also, possibly, a droplet-size dependence on the fog collection efficiency for the mesh. This study will continue to intercompare the various mesh in conjunction with the wind speed and direction data. If a collection efficiency dependence on mesh size or coating is confirmed, it may point to interesting and relevant mechanisms for fog droplet capture and collection hitherto unobserved in field conditions.

  18. Individual self > relational self > collective self-But why? Processes driving the self-hierarchy in self- and person perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nehrlich, Andreas D; Gebauer, Jochen E; Sedikides, Constantine; Abele, Andrea E

    2018-03-25

    The self has three parts: individual, relational, and collective. Typically, people personally value their individual self most, their relational self less, and their collective self least. This self-hierarchy is consequential, but underlying processes have remained unknown. Here, we propose two process accounts. The content account draws upon selves' agentic-communal content, explaining why the individual self is preferred most. The teleology account draws upon selves' instrumentality for becoming one's personal ideal, explaining why the collective self is preferred least. In Study 1 (N = 200, 45% female, M age  = 32.9 years, 79% Caucasian), participants listed characteristics of their three selves (individual, relational, collective) and evaluated those characteristics in seven preference tasks. Additionally, we analyzed the characteristics' agentic-communal content, and participants rated their characteristics' teleological instrumentality. Study 2 (N = 396, 55% female, M age  = 34.5 years, 76% Caucasian) used identical methodology and featured an additional condition, where participants evaluated the selves of a friend. Study 1 reconfirmed the self-hierarchy and supported both process accounts. Study 2 replicated and extended findings. As hypothesized, when people evaluate others' selves, a different self-hierarchy emerges (relational > individual > collective). This research pioneers process-driven explanations for the self-hierarchy, establishing why people prefer different self-parts in themselves than in others. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oenema, O.

    2015-01-01

    There is a need for communications about resource use efficiency and for measures to increase the use efficiency of nutrients in relation to food production. This holds especially for nitrogen. Nitrogen (N) is essential for life and a main nutrient element. It is needed in relatively large

  20. Biphilic Surfaces for Enhanced Water Collection from Humid Air

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benkoski, Jason; Gerasopoulos, Konstantinos; Luedeman, William

    Surface wettability plays an important role in water recovery, distillation, dehumidification, and heat transfer. The efficiency of each process depends on the rate of droplet nucleation, droplet growth, and mass transfer. Unfortunately, hydrophilic surfaces are good at nucleation but poor at shedding. Hydrophobic surfaces are the reverse. Many plants and animals overcome this tradeoff through biphilic surfaces with patterned wettability. For example, the Stenocara beetle uses hydrophilic patches on a superhydrophobic background to collect fog from air. Cribellate spiders similarly collect fog on their webs through periodic spindle-knot structures. In this study, we investigate the effects of wettability patterns on the rate of water collection from humid air. The steady state rate of water collection per unit area is measured as a function of undercooling, angle of inclination, water contact angle, hydrophilic patch size, patch spacing, area fraction, and patch height relative to the hydrophobic background. We then model each pattern by comparing the potential and kinetic energy of a droplet as it rolls downwards at a fixed angle. The results indicate that the design rules for collecting fog differ from those for condensation from humid air. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Office of Naval Research for financial support through Grant Number N00014-15-1-2107.

  1. Electro-spray deposition of a mesoporous TiO2 charge collection layer: toward large scale and continuous production of high efficiency perovskite solar cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Min-cheol; Kim, Byeong Jo; Yoon, Jungjin; Lee, Jin-wook; Suh, Dongchul; Park, Nam-gyu; Choi, Mansoo; Jung, Hyun Suk

    2015-12-28

    The spin-coating method, which is widely used for thin film device fabrication, is incapable of large-area deposition or being performed continuously. In perovskite hybrid solar cells using CH(3)NH(3)PbI(3) (MAPbI(3)), large-area deposition is essential for their potential use in mass production. Prior to replacing all the spin-coating process for fabrication of perovskite solar cells, herein, a mesoporous TiO(2) electron-collection layer is fabricated by using the electro-spray deposition (ESD) system. Moreover, impedance spectroscopy and transient photocurrent and photovoltage measurements reveal that the electro-sprayed mesoscopic TiO(2) film facilitates charge collection from the perovskite. The series resistance of the perovskite solar cell is also reduced owing to the highly porous nature of, and the low density of point defects in, the film. An optimized power conversion efficiency of 15.11% is achieved under an illumination of 1 sun; this efficiency is higher than that (13.67%) of the perovskite solar cell with the conventional spin-coated TiO(2) films. Furthermore, the large-area coating capability of the ESD process is verified through the coating of uniform 10 × 10 cm(2) TiO(2) films. This study clearly shows that ESD constitutes therefore a viable alternative for the fabrication of high-throughput, large-area perovskite solar cells.

  2. Tolerance analysis on diffraction efficiency and polychromatic integral diffraction efficiency for harmonic diffractive optics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shan, Mao

    2016-10-01

    In this dissertation, the mathematical model of effect of manufacturing errors including microstructure relative height error and relative width error on diffraction efficiency for the harmonic diffractive optical elements (HDEs) is set up. According to the expression of the phase delay and diffraction efficiency of the HDEs, the expression of diffraction efficiency of refraction and diffractive optical element with the microstructure height and periodic width errors in fabrication process is presented in this paper. Furthermore, the effect of manufacturing errors on diffraction efficiency for the harmonic diffractive optical elements is studied, and diffraction efficiency change is analyzed as the relative microstructure height-error in the same and in the opposite sign as well as relative width-error in the same and in the opposite sign. Example including infrared wavelength with materials GE has been discussed in this paper. Two kinds of manufacturing errors applied in 3.7 4.3um middle infrared and 8.7-11.5um far infrared optical system which results in diffraction efficiency and PIDE of HDEs are studied. The analysis results can be used for manufacturing error control in micro-structure height and periodic width. Results can be used for HDEs processing.

  3. Absolute versus Relative Environmental Sustainability: What can the Cradle-to-Cradle and Eco-efficiency Concepts Learn from Each Other?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørn, Anders; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

    2013-01-01

    The cradle-to-cradle (C2C) concept has emerged as an alternative to the more established eco-efficiency concept based on life cycle assessment (LCA). The two concepts differ fundamentally in that eco-efficiency aims to reduce the negative environmental footprint of human activities while C2C...... attempts to increase the positive footprint. This article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each concept and suggests how they may learn from each other. The eco-efficiency concept involves no long-term vision or strategy, the links between resource consumption and waste emissions are not well...... related to the sustainability state, and increases in eco-efficiency may lead to increases in consumption levels and hence overall impact. The C2C concept's disregard for energy efficiency means that many current C2C products will likely not perform well in an LCA. Inherent drawbacks are restrictions...

  4. Efficient use of energy

    CERN Document Server

    Dryden, IGC

    2013-01-01

    The Efficient Use of Energy, Second Edition is a compendium of papers discussing the efficiency with which energy is used in industry. The collection covers relevant topics in energy handling and describes the more important features of plant and equipment. The book is organized into six parts. Part I presents the various methods of heat production. The second part discusses the use of heat in industry and includes topics in furnace design, industrial heating, boiler plants, and water treatment. Part III deals with the production of mechanical and electrical energy. It tackles the principles o

  5. 78 FR 54894 - Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission, Comments...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-06

    ... plan, FCC's goal is to establish a flexible regulatory framework that allows for efficient licensing of... requirements. Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this... eligibility for designated entity benefits. The information collected will be used to ensure that only...

  6. Method of relative comparison of the thermohydraulic efficiency of heat exchange intensification in channels of heat-exchange surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dubrovskij, E.V.; Vasil'ev, V.Ya.

    2002-01-01

    One introduces a technique to compare relatively thermohydraulic efficiency of heat transfer intensification in channels of heat exchange surfaces of any design types. It is shown that one should compare thermohydraulic efficiency of heat exchange intensification as to the thermal power of heat exchangers and pressure losses in channels with turbulators and in polished channels of heat exchange surfaces on the basis of dimensions of heat exchangers, their heat exchange surfaces and at similar (as to Re numbers) modes of coolant flow [ru

  7. A multi-structural and multi-functional integrated fog collection system in cactus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ju, Jie; Bai, Hao; Zheng, Yongmei; Zhao, Tianyi; Fang, Ruochen; Jiang, Lei

    2012-01-01

    Multiple biological structures have demonstrated fog collection abilities, such as beetle backs with bumps and spider silks with periodic spindle-knots and joints. Many Cactaceae species live in arid environments and are extremely drought-tolerant. Here we report that one of the survival systems of the cactus Opuntia microdasys lies in its efficient fog collection system. This unique system is composed of well-distributed clusters of conical spines and trichomes on the cactus stem; each spine contains three integrated parts that have different roles in the fog collection process according to their surface structural features. The gradient of the Laplace pressure, the gradient of the surface-free energy and multi-function integration endow the cactus with an efficient fog collection system. Investigations of the structure-function relationship in this system may help us to design novel materials and devices to collect water from fog with high efficiencies.

  8. A multi-structural and multi-functional integrated fog collection system in cactus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ju, Jie; Bai, Hao; Zheng, Yongmei; Zhao, Tianyi; Fang, Ruochen; Jiang, Lei

    2012-01-01

    Multiple biological structures have demonstrated fog collection abilities, such as beetle backs with bumps and spider silks with periodic spindle-knots and joints. Many Cactaceae species live in arid environments and are extremely drought-tolerant. Here we report that one of the survival systems of the cactus Opuntia microdasys lies in its efficient fog collection system. This unique system is composed of well-distributed clusters of conical spines and trichomes on the cactus stem; each spine contains three integrated parts that have different roles in the fog collection process according to their surface structural features. The gradient of the Laplace pressure, the gradient of the surface-free energy and multi-function integration endow the cactus with an efficient fog collection system. Investigations of the structure–function relationship in this system may help us to design novel materials and devices to collect water from fog with high efficiencies. PMID:23212376

  9. Evaluating performance of high efficiency mist eliminators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Waggoner, Charles A.; Parsons, Michael S.; Giffin, Paxton K. [Mississippi State University, Institute for Clean Energy Technology, 205 Research Blvd, Starkville, MS (United States)

    2013-07-01

    Processing liquid wastes frequently generates off gas streams with high humidity and liquid aerosols. Droplet laden air streams can be produced from tank mixing or sparging and processes such as reforming or evaporative volume reduction. Unfortunately these wet air streams represent a genuine threat to HEPA filters. High efficiency mist eliminators (HEME) are one option for removal of liquid aerosols with high dissolved or suspended solids content. HEMEs have been used extensively in industrial applications, however they have not seen widespread use in the nuclear industry. Filtering efficiency data along with loading curves are not readily available for these units and data that exist are not easily translated to operational parameters in liquid waste treatment plants. A specialized test stand has been developed to evaluate the performance of HEME elements under use conditions of a US DOE facility. HEME elements were tested at three volumetric flow rates using aerosols produced from an iron-rich waste surrogate. The challenge aerosol included submicron particles produced from Laskin nozzles and super micron particles produced from a hollow cone spray nozzle. Test conditions included ambient temperature and relative humidities greater than 95%. Data collected during testing HEME elements from three different manufacturers included volumetric flow rate, differential temperature across the filter housing, downstream relative humidity, and differential pressure (dP) across the filter element. Filter challenge was discontinued at three intermediate dPs and the filter to allow determining filter efficiency using dioctyl phthalate and then with dry surrogate aerosols. Filtering efficiencies of the clean HEME, the clean HEME loaded with water, and the HEME at maximum dP were also collected using the two test aerosols. Results of the testing included differential pressure vs. time loading curves for the nine elements tested along with the mass of moisture and solid

  10. Fault-tolerant quantum cryptographic protocols with collective detection over the collective amplitude damping channel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Wei; Su, Qi; Li, Yan-Bing; Sun, Ying

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, a quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol, which can be immune to collective amplitude damping noise, is proposed with collective detection strategy. Then a multi-party quantum secret sharing (MQSS) protocol and a quantum private comparison (QPC) protocol are introduced as two applications of the proposed QKD protocol. Except for one participant who is responsible for preparing and measuring quantum states, the rest of the users in each of these protocols only need to perform certain unitary operations due to the utilization of collective detection. Therefore, in addition to the advantage of being secure against collective amplitude damping noise, the proposed protocols still have the advantages of higher qubit efficiency and lower cost for implementation. Moreover, the security of these protocols is guaranteed by theorems on quantum operation discrimination. (papers)

  11. 78 FR 69095 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Food Canning...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-18

    ...] Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Food Canning... or we) is extending the comment period for the information collection entitled ``Food Canning... a proposed collection of information related to ``Food Canning Establishment Registration, Process...

  12. Impact of donor- and collection-related variables on product quality in ex utero cord blood banking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Askari, Sabeen; Miller, John; Chrysler, Gayl; McCullough, Jeffrey

    2005-02-01

    Optimizing product quality is a current focus in cord blood banking. This study evaluates the role of selected donor- and collection-related variables. Retrospective review was performed of cord blood units (CBUs) collected ex utero between February 1, 2000, and February 28, 2002. Preprocessing volume and total nucleated cell (TNC) counts and postprocessing CD34 cell counts were used as product quality indicators. Of 2084 CBUs, volume determinations and TNC counts were performed on 1628 and CD34+ counts on 1124 CBUs. Mean volume and TNC and CD34+ counts were 85.2 mL, 118.9 x 10(7), and 5.2 x 10(6), respectively. In univariate analysis, placental weight of greater than 500 g and meconium in amniotic fluid correlated with better volume and TNC and CD34+ counts. Greater than 40 weeks' gestation predicted enhanced volume and TNC count. Cesarean section, two- versus one-person collection, and not greater than 5 minutes between placental delivery and collection produced superior volume. Increased TNC count was also seen in Caucasian women, primigravidae, female newborns, and collection duration of more than 5 minutes. A time between delivery of newborn and placenta of not greater than 10 minutes predicted better volume and CD34+ count. By regression analysis, collection within not greater than 5 minutes of placental delivery produced superior volume and TNC count. Donor selection and collection technique modifications may improve product quality. TNC count appears to be more affected by different variables than CD34+ count.

  13. On the relation between the interacting boson model of Arima and Iachello and the collective model of Bohr and Mottelson

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Assenbaum, H.J.; Weiguny, A.

    1982-01-01

    The generator coordinate method is used to relate the interacting boson model of Arima and Iachello and the collective model of Bohr and Mottelson through an isometric transformation. It associates complex parameters to the original boson operators whereas the ultimate collective variables are real. The absolute squares of the collective wave functions can be given a direct probability interpretation. The lowest order Bohr-Mottelson hamiltonian is obtained in the harmonic approximation to the interacting boson model; unharmonic coupling terms render the collective potential to be velocity-dependent. (orig.)

  14. Collection efficiency of charges in ionization chambers in presence of constant or variable radiation intensity; Efficacite de la collection des charges dans les chambres d'ionisation en presence d'une intensite de rayonnement ionisant constante ou variable

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Decuyper, J [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Grenoble (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

    1970-07-01

    The theoretical and experimental study of the collection of carriers built up by ionization in standard chambers, is made by varying the value of different acting parameters. In the presence of constant ionization intensity and under a D.C. and A.C. voltage, the effect of geometry, recombination, diffusion and attachment is analyzed. The compensation of thermal neutron D.C. chambers is equally considered. Under a time dependent ionization intensity and D.C. voltage, is then studied the effect of recombination on current response, and on the collection efficiency of all formed charges. (author) [French] L'etude theorique et experimentale de la collection des porteurs crees par ionisation dans les chambres couramment utilisees est entreprise en fonction de la valeur des differents parametres agissants. En presence d'une ionisation constante et sous une tension d'alimentation d'abord continue puis alternative, on analyse l'influence de la geometrie, de la recombinaison, de la diffusion et de l'attachement. La compensation des chambres a courant continu de mesure neutronique est egalement examinee. Ensuite, sous une intensite d'ionisation variable dans le temps et en alimentation continue, on etudie l'effet de la recombinaison sur la reponse en courant et sur l'efficacite de la collection de la charge totale liberee. (auteur)

  15. Numerical multistep methods for the efficient solution of quantum mechanics and related problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anastassi, Z.A.; Simos, T.E.

    2009-01-01

    In this paper we present the recent development in the numerical integration of the Schroedinger equation and related systems of ordinary differential equations with oscillatory solutions, such as the N-body problem. We examine several types of multistep methods (explicit, implicit, predictor-corrector, hybrid) and several properties (P-stability, trigonometric fitting of various orders, phase fitting, high phase-lag order, algebraic order). We analyze the local truncation error and the stability of the methods. The error for the Schroedinger equation is also presented, which reveals the relation of the error to the energy. The efficiency of the methods is evaluated through the integration of five problems. Figures are presented and analyzed and some general conclusions are made. Code written in Maple is given for the development of all methods analyzed in this paper. Also the subroutines written in Matlab, that concern the integration of the methods, are presented.

  16. Experimental study of slab solar collection on the hydronic system of road

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gao, Qing; Huang, Yong; Li, Ming; Liu, Yan [Jilin University, Changchun (China); Yan, Y.Y. [University of Nottingham (United Kingdom)

    2010-12-15

    This paper studied the slab solar collection (SSC) process, which is one of the essential compositions of road hydronic ice-snow melting (HISM) system that stores solar energy in summer to melt ice and snow on the road in winter. Its aim is to find out the heat transfer characteristic of the SSC and heat collecting efficiency and the influence of pipe spacing and flow rate by experiment. As shown in experimental results, the average heat collecting capacity is about 150-250 W/m{sup 2} in natural summer condition, while the solar radiation intensity is about 300-1000 W/m{sup 2}. It is shown that the increment of fluid flow results in the increment of heat collection efficiency, while the increment of pipe spacing results in the decrement of the efficiency in experiment modes. The results show that the road slab can obtain about 30% solar heat in summertime, and the solar collection can lower the pavement temperature and reduce the insolation weathering. (author)

  17. Comparison of catching efficiency of two Indonesian traditional traps, Ayunan and Tamba

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmadi

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The catching efficiency of traditional traps: Ayunan and Tamba were tested in Sungai Batang River, South Kalimantan of Indonesia. Trials consisted of 320-trap hauls/type using 1-day submersion time of 24 hr. The baited traps sampling accounted for 82 specimens assigned to 5 species of 5 families. There was a large variability in number of catch between prawns and fish species collected (T=2.318, P<0.05. The prawns catch was represented by only the species Macrobrachium rossenbergii with total of 53 and 1,015 g weight. The prawns weight of Tamba was significantly higher than that of Ayunan (T=3.453, P<0.01.The fish catch composed of Mystus gulio 79%, Osteochilus hasselti 10%, Hypostomus plecostomus 7%, and Macrognathus aculeatus 3%, with total weight ranged from 35 to 560 g. A clear difference was found in catching efficiency. Comparative fishing trials showed that Tamba collected specimens were 1.8 times higher than Ayunan (T=2.223, P<0.05. Catch per unit effort for Tamba ranged from 58.13 to 80.00, and for Ayunan ranged from 5.31 to 7.19. The gear modifications and various treatments (e.g. bait odor, light are necessary to be taken to increase their relative catching efficiency.

  18. Seasonality directs contrasting food collection behavior and nutrient regulation strategies in ants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Steven C; Eubanks, Micky D; Gold, Roger E; Behmer, Spencer T

    2011-01-01

    Long-lived animals, including social insects, often display seasonal shifts in foraging behavior. Foraging is ultimately a nutrient consumption exercise, but the effect of seasonality per se on changes in foraging behavior, particularly as it relates to nutrient regulation, is poorly understood. Here, we show that field-collected fire ant colonies, returned to the laboratory and maintained under identical photoperiod, temperature, and humidity regimes, and presented with experimental foods that had different protein (p) to carbohydrate (c) ratios, practice summer- and fall-specific foraging behaviors with respect to protein-carbohydrate regulation. Summer colonies increased the amount of food collected as the p:c ratio of their food became increasingly imbalanced, but fall colonies collected similar amounts of food regardless of the p:c ratio of their food. Choice experiments revealed that feeding was non-random, and that both fall and summer ants preferred carbohydrate-biased food. However, ants rarely ate all the food they collected, and their cached or discarded food always contained little carbohydrate relative to protein. From a nutrient regulation strategy, ants consumed most of the carbohydrate they collected, but regulated protein consumption to a similar level, regardless of season. We suggest that varied seasonal food collection behaviors and nutrient regulation strategies may be an adaptation that allows long-lived animals to meet current and future nutrient demands when nutrient-rich foods are abundant (e.g. spring and summer), and to conserve energy and be metabolically more efficient when nutritionally balanced foods are less abundant.

  19. Photophysical and photochemical study of styrene dyes related to their laser efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meyer, Martine

    1989-01-01

    The photophysical and photochemical properties of two styrene dyes: 4-dicyanomethylene-2-methyl-6-p-dimethylamino-styryl-4H-pyran (DCM) and 7-dimethylamino-3-(-p-formyl-styryl)-1,4-benzoxazine-2-one (DFSBO) have been studied. These molecules have electron donor and electron acceptor groups which give to their fluorescent excited state a charge transfer state character. The red shifts of the absorption and fluorescence spectra in polar solvents and the large Stokes shift related to the increase of the dipole moment from the ground state to the singlet excited state have been fully characterised. The absorption spectra of the first excited singlet and triplet states and the quantum yields of the intersystem crossing to the triplet state have been determined. The existence of conformers of the two dyes has been evidenced. The synthesis of DCM leads to the trans isomer which, under light exposure undergoes photo-isomerization to the cis-compound. Their fluorescence lifetimes and the photo-isomerization efficiency are solvent dependent. The DFSBO emission spectra depend greatly on the excitation wavelength. This effect can be explained by the occurrence of two rotational conformers one being stabilised by an intramolecular hydrogen bond. The spectral properties of these two molecules enable us to explain why DCM is a very good laser dye whereas DFSBO has a poor laser efficiency. (author) [fr

  20. The algebraic collective model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rowe, D.J.; Turner, P.S.

    2005-01-01

    A recently proposed computationally tractable version of the Bohr collective model is developed to the extent that we are now justified in describing it as an algebraic collective model. The model has an SU(1,1)xSO(5) algebraic structure and a continuous set of exactly solvable limits. Moreover, it provides bases for mixed symmetry collective model calculations. However, unlike the standard realization of SU(1,1), used for computing beta wave functions and their matrix elements in a spherical basis, the algebraic collective model makes use of an SU(1,1) algebra that generates wave functions appropriate for deformed nuclei with intrinsic quadrupole moments ranging from zero to any large value. A previous paper focused on the SO(5) wave functions, as SO(5) (hyper-)spherical harmonics, and computation of their matrix elements. This paper gives analytical expressions for the beta matrix elements needed in applications of the model and illustrative results to show the remarkable gain in efficiency that is achieved by using such a basis in collective model calculations for deformed nuclei

  1. THE EFFICIENCY OF PROMOTIONAL INSTRUMENTS RELATED TO THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE STAGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MIHAELA MARCU

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Regarded as a planning tool, PLC (product life cycle strongly contributes to the identification of the main marketing challenges that may arise throughout the life of a product/service. Thus, the marketing management has the opportunity to develop and implement those solutions designed to optimize each of the 4P of marketing mix: product (quality, price, distribution (placement and promotion. The communication program has an essential role, because the company presents through it its "product" to actual or potential customers in order to convince them of the benefits of purchasing/using it. The efficiency of the promotional instruments involves an appropriate allocation of funds needed to promote the product/service in relation to the stage of its life cycle.

  2. Diagrams and Relational Maps: The Use of Graphic Elicitation Techniques with Interviewing for Data Collection, Analysis, and Display

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea J. Copeland PhD

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Graphic elicitation techniques, which ask research participants to provide visual data representing personal understandings of concepts, experiences, beliefs, or behaviors, can be especially useful in helping participants to express complex or abstract ideas or opinions. The benefits and drawbacks of using graphic elicitation techniques for data collection, data analysis, and data display in qualitative research studies are analyzed using examples from a research study that employed data matrices and relational maps in conjunction with semi-structured interviews. Results from this analysis demonstrate that the use of these combined techniques for data collection facilitates triangulation and helps to establish internal consistency of data, thereby increasing the trustworthiness of the interpretation of that data and lending support to validity and reliability claims. Findings support the notion that graphic elicitation techniques can be highly useful in qualitative research studies at the data collection, the data analysis, and the data reporting stages. For example, this study found that graphic elicitation techniques are especially useful for eliciting data related to emotions and emotional experiences.

  3. Role Breadth Self-Efficacy and Foci of Proactive Behavior: Moderating Role of Collective, Relational, and Individual Self-Concept.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Pin-Chyuan; Han, Ming-Chuan; Chiu, Su-Fen

    2015-01-01

    This study aims to identify the interactive effect of role breadth self-efficacy (RBSE) and the three levels of self-concept (collective, relational, and individual) in predicting of different foci of proactive behaviors. Results from 259 matched responses from an airline company in Taiwan showed that RBSE had a positive effect on (1) pro-organizational proactive behavior among those with higher collective self-concept, (2) pro-supervisor proactive behavior among those with higher relational self-concept, and (3) pro-self proactive behavior among those with higher individual self-concept. Our findings provide insights into the moderating role of different levels of self-concept on RBSE-proactive behavior process in terms of specific targets or beneficiaries. Further implications for organizational research and practice are discussed.

  4. Experimental study of elementary collection efficiency of aerosols by spray: Design of the experimental device

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ducret, D.; Vendel, J.; Garrec. S.L.

    1995-02-01

    The safety of a nuclear power plant containment building, in which pressure and temperature could increase because of a overheating reactor accident, can be achieved by spraying water drops. The spray reduces the pressure and the temperature levels by condensation of steam on cold water drops. The more stringent thermodynamic conditions are a pressure of 5.10{sup 5} Pa (due to steam emission) and a temperature of 413 K. Moreover its energy dissipation function, the spray leads to the washout of fission product particles emitted in the reactor building atmosphere. The present study includes a large program devoted to the evaluation of realistic washout rates. The aim of this work is to develop experiments in order to determine the collection efficiency of aerosols by a single drop. To do this, the experimental device has to be designed with fundamental criteria:-Thermodynamic conditions have to be representative of post-accident atmosphere. Thermodynamic equilibrium has to be attained between the water drops and the gaseous phase. Thermophoretic, diffusiophoretic and mechanical effects have to be studied independently. Operating conditions have to be homogenous and constant during each experiment. This paper presents the design of the experimental device. In practice, the consequences on the design of each of the criteria given previously and the necessity of being representative of the real conditions will be described.

  5. Evaluation of Efficiency of Schoenly Trap for Collecting Adult Sarcosaprophagous Dipterans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ordonez Gloria, Alejandro

    2008-01-01

    Communities of adult sarcosaprophagous dipterans were evaluated using both Schoenly traps (BST) baited with rabbit carcasses and the traditional forensic methodology (TradC) in the Sabana de Bogota ́ , Colombia. During 42 sampling days, 2,726 adult dipterans were collected (2,291 by BST and 435...

  6. Evaluation of efficiency of Schoenly trap for collecting adult sarcosaprophagous dipterans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ordonez, A.; Garcia, M. D.; Fagua, G.

    Communities of adult sarcosaprophagous dipterans were evaluated using both Schoenly traps (BST) baited with rabbit carcasses and the traditional forensic methodology (TradC) in the Sabana de Bogota, Colombia. During 42 sampling days, 2,726 adult dipterans were collected (2,291 by BST and 435 by

  7. Graded band-gap engineering for increased efficiency in CZTS solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferhati, H.; Djeffal, F.

    2018-02-01

    In this paper, we propose a potential high efficiency Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4/CdS (CZTS) solar cell design based on graded band-gap engineering that can offer the benefits of improved absorption behavior and reduced recombination effects. Moreover, a new hybrid approach based on analytical modeling and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is proposed to determinate the optimal band-gap profile of the amended CZTS absorber layer to achieve further efficiency enhancement. It is found that the proposed design exhibits superior performance, where a high efficiency of 16.9% is recorded for the optimized solar cell with a relative improvement of 92%, compared with the reference cell efficiency of 8.8%. Likewise, the optimized CZTS solar cell with a graded band-gap enables achieving a higher open circuit voltage of 889 mV, a short-circuit current of 28.5 mA and a fill factor of 66%. Therefore, the optimized CZTS-based solar cell with graded-band gap paradigm pinpoints a new path toward recording high-efficiency thin-film solar cells through enhancing carrier collection and reducing the recombination rate.

  8. Carotenoid coloration is related to fat digestion efficiency in a wild bird

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madonia, Christina; Hutton, Pierce; Giraudeau, Mathieu; Sepp, Tuul

    2017-12-01

    Some of the most spectacular visual signals found in the animal kingdom are based on dietarily derived carotenoid pigments (which cannot be produced de novo), with a general assumption that carotenoids are limited resources for wild organisms, causing trade-offs in allocation of carotenoids to different physiological functions and ornamentation. This resource trade-off view has been recently questioned, since the efficiency of carotenoid processing may relax the trade-off between allocation toward condition or ornamentation. This hypothesis has so far received little exploratory support, since studies of digestive efficiency of wild animals are limited due to methodological difficulties. Recently, a method for quantifying the percentage of fat in fecal samples to measure digestive efficiency has been developed in birds. Here, we use this method to test if the intensity of the carotenoid-based coloration predicts digestive efficiency in a wild bird, the house finch ( Haemorhous mexicanus). The redness of carotenoid feather coloration (hue) positively predicted digestion efficiency, with redder birds being more efficient at absorbing fats from seeds. We show for the first time in a wild species that digestive efficiency predicts ornamental coloration. Though not conclusive due to the correlative nature of our study, these results strongly suggest that fat extraction might be a crucial but overlooked process behind many ornamental traits.

  9. Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Cooperative Janus System for Enhancement of Fog Collection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Moyuan; Xiao, Jiasheng; Yu, Cunming; Li, Kan; Jiang, Lei

    2015-09-09

    Harvesting micro-droplets from fog is a promising method for solving global freshwater crisis. Different types of fog collectors have been extensively reported during the last decade. The improvement of fog collection can be attributed to the immediate transportation of harvested water, the effective regeneration of the fog gathering surface, etc. Through learning from the nature's strategy for water preservation, the hydrophobic/hydrophilic cooperative Janus system that achieved reinforced fog collection ability is reported here. Directional delivery of the surface water, decreased re-evaporation rate of the harvested water, and thinner boundary layer of the collecting surface contribute to the enhancement of collection efficiency. Further designed cylinder Janus collector can facilely achieve a continuous process of efficient collection, directional transportation, and spontaneous preservation of fog water. This Janus fog harvesting system should improve the understanding of micro-droplet collection system and offer ideas to solve water resource crisis. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Energy efficiency analysis: biomass-to-wheel efficiency related with biofuels production, fuel distribution, and powertrain systems.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei-Dong Huang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Energy efficiency analysis for different biomass-utilization scenarios would help make more informed decisions for developing future biomass-based transportation systems. Diverse biofuels produced from biomass include cellulosic ethanol, butanol, fatty acid ethyl esters, methane, hydrogen, methanol, dimethyether, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, and bioelectricity; the respective powertrain systems include internal combustion engine (ICE vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles based on gasoline or diesel ICEs, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, sugar fuel cell vehicles (SFCV, and battery electric vehicles (BEV. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a simple, straightforward, and transparent biomass-to-wheel (BTW analysis including three separate conversion elements--biomass-to-fuel conversion, fuel transport and distribution, and respective powertrain systems. BTW efficiency is a ratio of the kinetic energy of an automobile's wheels to the chemical energy of delivered biomass just before entering biorefineries. Up to 13 scenarios were analyzed and compared to a base line case--corn ethanol/ICE. This analysis suggests that BEV, whose electricity is generated from stationary fuel cells, and SFCV, based on a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle with an on-board sugar-to-hydrogen bioreformer, would have the highest BTW efficiencies, nearly four times that of ethanol-ICE. SIGNIFICANCE: In the long term, a small fraction of the annual US biomass (e.g., 7.1%, or 700 million tons of biomass would be sufficient to meet 100% of light-duty passenger vehicle fuel needs (i.e., 150 billion gallons of gasoline/ethanol per year, through up to four-fold enhanced BTW efficiencies by using SFCV or BEV. SFCV would have several advantages over BEV: much higher energy storage densities, faster refilling rates, better safety, and less environmental burdens.

  11. Energy Efficiency Analysis: Biomass-to-Wheel Efficiency Related with Biofuels Production, Fuel Distribution, and Powertrain Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Wei-Dong; Zhang, Y-H Percival

    2011-01-01

    Background Energy efficiency analysis for different biomass-utilization scenarios would help make more informed decisions for developing future biomass-based transportation systems. Diverse biofuels produced from biomass include cellulosic ethanol, butanol, fatty acid ethyl esters, methane, hydrogen, methanol, dimethyether, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, and bioelectricity; the respective powertrain systems include internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles based on gasoline or diesel ICEs, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, sugar fuel cell vehicles (SFCV), and battery electric vehicles (BEV). Methodology/Principal Findings We conducted a simple, straightforward, and transparent biomass-to-wheel (BTW) analysis including three separate conversion elements -- biomass-to-fuel conversion, fuel transport and distribution, and respective powertrain systems. BTW efficiency is a ratio of the kinetic energy of an automobile's wheels to the chemical energy of delivered biomass just before entering biorefineries. Up to 13 scenarios were analyzed and compared to a base line case – corn ethanol/ICE. This analysis suggests that BEV, whose electricity is generated from stationary fuel cells, and SFCV, based on a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle with an on-board sugar-to-hydrogen bioreformer, would have the highest BTW efficiencies, nearly four times that of ethanol-ICE. Significance In the long term, a small fraction of the annual US biomass (e.g., 7.1%, or 700 million tons of biomass) would be sufficient to meet 100% of light-duty passenger vehicle fuel needs (i.e., 150 billion gallons of gasoline/ethanol per year), through up to four-fold enhanced BTW efficiencies by using SFCV or BEV. SFCV would have several advantages over BEV: much higher energy storage densities, faster refilling rates, better safety, and less environmental burdens. PMID:21765941

  12. Energy efficiency analysis: biomass-to-wheel efficiency related with biofuels production, fuel distribution, and powertrain systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Wei-Dong; Zhang, Y-H Percival

    2011-01-01

    Energy efficiency analysis for different biomass-utilization scenarios would help make more informed decisions for developing future biomass-based transportation systems. Diverse biofuels produced from biomass include cellulosic ethanol, butanol, fatty acid ethyl esters, methane, hydrogen, methanol, dimethyether, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, and bioelectricity; the respective powertrain systems include internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles based on gasoline or diesel ICEs, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, sugar fuel cell vehicles (SFCV), and battery electric vehicles (BEV). We conducted a simple, straightforward, and transparent biomass-to-wheel (BTW) analysis including three separate conversion elements--biomass-to-fuel conversion, fuel transport and distribution, and respective powertrain systems. BTW efficiency is a ratio of the kinetic energy of an automobile's wheels to the chemical energy of delivered biomass just before entering biorefineries. Up to 13 scenarios were analyzed and compared to a base line case--corn ethanol/ICE. This analysis suggests that BEV, whose electricity is generated from stationary fuel cells, and SFCV, based on a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle with an on-board sugar-to-hydrogen bioreformer, would have the highest BTW efficiencies, nearly four times that of ethanol-ICE. In the long term, a small fraction of the annual US biomass (e.g., 7.1%, or 700 million tons of biomass) would be sufficient to meet 100% of light-duty passenger vehicle fuel needs (i.e., 150 billion gallons of gasoline/ethanol per year), through up to four-fold enhanced BTW efficiencies by using SFCV or BEV. SFCV would have several advantages over BEV: much higher energy storage densities, faster refilling rates, better safety, and less environmental burdens.

  13. Motivational Hierarchy in the Chinese Brain: Primacy of the Individual Self, Relational Self, or Collective Self?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Xiangru; Wu, Haiyan; Yang, Suyong; Gu, Ruolei

    2016-01-01

    According to the three-tier hierarchy of motivational potency in the self system, the self can be divided into individual self, relational self, and collective self, and individual self is at the top of the motivational hierarchy in Western culture. However, the motivational primacy of the individual self is challenged in Chinese culture, which raises the question about whether the three-tier hierarchy of motivational potency in the self system can be differentiated in the collectivist brain. The present study recorded the event-related potentials (ERPs) to evaluate brain responses when participants gambled for individual self, for a close friend (relational self), or for the class (collective self). The ERP results showed that when outcome feedback was positive, gambling for individual self evoked a larger reward positivity compared with gambling for a friend or for the class, while there is no difference between the latter two conditions. In contrast, when outcome feedback was negative, no significant effect was found between conditions. The present findings provide direct electrophysiological evidence that individual self is at the top of the three-tier hierarchy of the motivational system in the collectivist brain, which supports the classical pancultural view that individual self has motivational primacy.

  14. High-Efficiency Fog Collector: Water Unidirectional Transport on Heterogeneous Rough Conical Wires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Ting; Lin, Yucai; Zhang, Miaoxin; Shi, Weiwei; Zheng, Yongmei

    2016-12-27

    An artificial periodic roughness-gradient conical copper wire (PCCW) can be fabricated by inspiration from cactus spines and wet spider silks. PCCW can harvest fog on periodic points of the conical surface from air and transports the drops for a long distance without external force, which is attributed to dynamic as-released energy generated from drop deformation in drop coalescence, in addition to both gradients of geometric curve (inducing Laplace pressure) and periodic roughness (inducing surface energy difference). It is found that the ability of fog collection can be related to various tilt-angle wires, thus a fog collector with an array system of PCCWs is further designed to achieve a continuous process of efficient water collection. As a result, the effect of water collection on PCCWs is better than previous results. These findings are significant to develop and design materials with water collection and water transport for promising application in fogwater systems to ease the water crisis.

  15. 75 FR 40831 - Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-14

    ... licensing plan, the FCC's goal is to establish a flexible regulator framework that allows for efficient... requirement. Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this... operational plan for a radio service, a certain number of regulatory and information collection requirements...

  16. Waste Collection Vehicle Routing Problem: Literature Review

    OpenAIRE

    Hui Han; Eva Ponce Cueto

    2015-01-01

    Waste generation is an issue which has caused wide public concern in modern societies, not only for the quantitative rise of the amount of waste generated, but also for the increasing complexity of some products and components. Waste collection is a highly relevant activity in the reverse logistics system and how to collect waste in an efficient way is an area that needs to be improved. This paper analyzes the major contribution about Waste Collection Vehicle Routing Problem (WCVRP) in litera...

  17. Two-party quantum key agreement protocols under collective noise channel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Hao; Chen, Xiao-Guang; Qian, Song-Rong

    2018-06-01

    Recently, quantum communication has become a very popular research field. The quantum key agreement (QKA) plays an important role in the field of quantum communication, based on its unconditional security in terms of theory. Among all kinds of QKA protocols, QKA protocols resisting collective noise are widely being studied. In this paper, we propose improved two-party QKA protocols resisting collective noise and present a feasible plan for information reconciliation. Our protocols' qubit efficiency has achieved 26.67%, which is the best among all the two-party QKA protocols against collective noise, thus showing that our protocol can improve the transmission efficiency of quantum key agreement.

  18. Measurements of the light conversion efficiency of lithium borate for alpha particles relative to cobalt-60 gamma radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bartlett, D.T.; Wall, B.F.; Fisher, E.S. (National Radiological Protection Board, Harwell (UK))

    1982-01-01

    The results are reported of measurements of the light conversion efficiencies of lithium borate TLD phosphor of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. manufacture to 5.65 MeV and 2.4 MeV alpha particles relative to /sup 60/Co gamma radiation.

  19. Data collection costs in industrial environments for three occupational posture exposure assessment methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Documentation of posture measurement costs is rare and cost models that do exist are generally naïve. This paper provides a comprehensive cost model for biomechanical exposure assessment in occupational studies, documents the monetary costs of three exposure assessment methods for different stakeholders in data collection, and uses simulations to evaluate the relative importance of cost components. Methods Trunk and shoulder posture variables were assessed for 27 aircraft baggage handlers for 3 full shifts each using three methods typical to ergonomic studies: self-report via questionnaire, observation via video film, and full-shift inclinometer registration. The cost model accounted for expenses related to meetings to plan the study, administration, recruitment, equipment, training of data collectors, travel, and onsite data collection. Sensitivity analyses were conducted using simulated study parameters and cost components to investigate the impact on total study cost. Results Inclinometry was the most expensive method (with a total study cost of € 66,657), followed by observation (€ 55,369) and then self report (€ 36,865). The majority of costs (90%) were borne by researchers. Study design parameters such as sample size, measurement scheduling and spacing, concurrent measurements, location and travel, and equipment acquisition were shown to have wide-ranging impacts on costs. Conclusions This study provided a general cost modeling approach that can facilitate decision making and planning of data collection in future studies, as well as investigation into cost efficiency and cost efficient study design. Empirical cost data from a large field study demonstrated the usefulness of the proposed models. PMID:22738341

  20. Selective Collection Quality Index for Municipal Solid Waste Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Cristina Rada

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Trentino (an Italian Province located in the northern part of the country is equipped with a management system of municipal solid waste collection at the forefront. Among the most positive aspects, there is a great ability for waste separation at the source and a consequent low production of residual municipal solid waste for disposal. Latest data show a gross efficiency of selective collection that has recently reached 80%, one of the highest values in Italy. This study analyzed the “Trentino system” to identify the main elements that have been at the base of the current efficient model. This provided an opportunity to propose a selective collection quality index (SCQI, including collection efficiency for each fraction, method of collection, quality of the collected materials, presence of the punctual tariff and tourist incidence. A period relevant for the transition of the collection system to the recent one was chosen for the demonstrative adoption of the proposed indicators in order to determine the potential of the index adoption. Results of the analysis of this case study were obtained in a quantitative form thanks to the sub-parameters that characterize the proposed index. This allowed selected collection decision makers to focus intently on a territory to find criticalities to be solved. For instance, the use of the index and its sub-indicators in the case of Trentino identified and comparatively quantified the local problems resulting from the presence of a large museum in a small town, tourism peaks in some valleys, and a delay in the punctual tariff adoption. The index has been proposed with the aim to make available an integrated tool to analyze other areas in Italy and abroad.

  1. A study on light collection of small scintillating crystals

    CERN Document Server

    Vittori, F; Malatesta, T; Puertolas, D

    2000-01-01

    Measurements are described concerning the light collection efficiency of YAP:Ce and CsI(Tl) crystals pillars with thicknesses ranging between 3 and 28 mm and cross-sections of 0.6 x 0.6 and 1 x 1 mm sup 2. These measurements have shown that the light collection is strongly dependent on the length of the pillar rather than on its cross-sectional area. A Monte Carlo code has been developed in order to evaluate the light collection efficiency as a function of the pillar geometry and surface treatment. Particular attention has been paid to the light transition through the crystal-photocathode window interface. The possibility to improve light detection by using a new photon detector provided with a YAP photocathode window has been verified.

  2. Energy efficiency in Swedish industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Shanshan; Lundgren, Tommy; Zhou, Wenchao

    2016-01-01

    This paper assesses energy efficiency in Swedish industry. Using unique firm-level panel data covering the years 2001–2008, the efficiency estimates are obtained for firms in 14 industrial sectors by using data envelopment analysis (DEA). The analysis accounts for multi-output technologies where undesirable outputs are produced alongside with the desirable output. The results show that there was potential to improve energy efficiency in all the sectors and relatively large energy inefficiencies existed in small energy-use industries in the sample period. Also, we assess how the EU ETS, the carbon dioxide (CO_2) tax and the energy tax affect energy efficiency by conducting a second-stage regression analysis. To obtain consistent estimates for the regression model, we apply a modified, input-oriented version of the double bootstrap procedure of Simar and Wilson (2007). The results of the regression analysis reveal that the EU ETS and the CO_2 tax did not have significant influences on energy efficiency in the sample period. However, the energy tax had a positive relation with the energy efficiency. - Highlights: • We use DEA to estimate firm-level energy efficiency in Swedish industry. • We examine impacts of climate and energy policies on energy efficiency. • The analyzed policies are Swedish carbon and energy taxes and the EU ETS. • Carbon tax and EU ETS did not have significant influences on energy efficiency. • The energy tax had a positive relation with energy efficiency.

  3. Relational Coordination in Danish General Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lundstrøm, Sanne Lykke

    . The dissertation present the research study and a collection of three research papers prepared during the period from May 2010 to June 2014. Relational coordination and organisational social capital are measures of novel aspects of an organisation's performance. Relational coordination analyse the communication...... and relationship networks through which work is coordinated across functional and organisational boundaries. Previous studies have shown that relational coordination is positively associated with delivery of care for patients with chronic illness. Organisational social capital is used when analysing...... the psychosocial work environment in organisations, and is seen as a powerful resources for improving organisational performance. Relational coordination and organisational social capital may oer new insight and opportunities for general practice to learn. General practice provides cost-efficient, first...

  4. A Methodology to Measure Synergy Among Energy-Efficiency Programs at the Program Participant Level

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tonn, B.E.

    2003-11-14

    This paper presents a methodology designed to measure synergy among energy-efficiency programs at the program participant level (e.g., households, firms). Three different definitions of synergy are provided: strong, moderate, and weak. Data to measure synergy can be collected through simple survey questions. Straightforward mathematical techniques can be used to estimate the three types of synergy and explore relative synergistic impacts of different subsets of programs. Empirical research is needed to test the concepts and methods and to establish quantitative expectations about synergistic relationships among programs. The market for new energy-efficient motors is the context used to illustrate all the concepts and methods in this paper.

  5. 77 FR 42752 - New Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review: Generic Clearance for the Collection...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-20

    ... information collection activity provides a means to gather qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an... customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the Administration's commitment to improving service delivery. From the TSA perspective, qualitative feedback from customers and...

  6. High-throughput genotyping for species identification and diversity assessment in germplasm collections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Annaliese S; Zhang, Jing; Tollenaere, Reece; Vasquez Teuber, Paula; Dalton-Morgan, Jessica; Hu, Liyong; Yan, Guijun; Edwards, David; Redden, Robert; Batley, Jacqueline

    2015-09-01

    Germplasm collections provide an extremely valuable resource for breeders and researchers. However, misclassification of accessions by species often hinders the effective use of these collections. We propose that use of high-throughput genotyping tools can provide a fast, efficient and cost-effective way of confirming species in germplasm collections, as well as providing valuable genetic diversity data. We genotyped 180 Brassicaceae samples sourced from the Australian Grains Genebank across the recently released Illumina Infinium Brassica 60K SNP array. Of these, 76 were provided on the basis of suspected misclassification and another 104 were sourced independently from the germplasm collection. Presence of the A- and C-genomes combined with principle components analysis clearly separated Brassica rapa, B. oleracea, B. napus, B. carinata and B. juncea samples into distinct species groups. Several lines were further validated using chromosome counts. Overall, 18% of samples (32/180) were misclassified on the basis of species. Within these 180 samples, 23/76 (30%) supplied on the basis of suspected misclassification were misclassified, and 9/105 (9%) of the samples randomly sourced from the Australian Grains Genebank were misclassified. Surprisingly, several individuals were also found to be the product of interspecific hybridization events. The SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) array proved effective at confirming species, and provided useful information related to genetic diversity. As similar genomic resources become available for different crops, high-throughput molecular genotyping will offer an efficient and cost-effective method to screen germplasm collections worldwide, facilitating more effective use of these valuable resources by breeders and researchers. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Genetic Dissection of Root Morphological Traits Related to Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Brassica napus L. under Two Contrasting Nitrogen Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Wang

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available As the major determinant for nutrient uptake, root system architecture (RSA has a massive impact on nitrogen use efficiency (NUE. However, little is known the molecular control of RSA as related to NUE in rapeseed. Here, a rapeseed recombinant inbred line population (BnaZNRIL was used to investigate root morphology (RM, an important component for RSA and NUE-related traits under high-nitrogen (HN and low-nitrogen (LN conditions by hydroponics. Data analysis suggested that RM-related traits, particularly root size had significantly phenotypic correlations with plant dry biomass and N uptake irrespective of N levels, but no or little correlation with N utilization efficiency (NUtE, providing the potential to identify QTLs with pleiotropy or specificity for RM- and NUE-related traits. A total of 129 QTLs (including 23 stable QTLs, which were repeatedly detected at least two environments or different N levels were identified and 83 of them were integrated into 22 pleiotropic QTL clusters. Five RM-NUE, ten RM-specific and three NUE-specific QTL clusters with same directions of additive-effect implied two NUE-improving approaches (RM-based and N utilization-based directly and provided valuable genomic regions for NUE improvement in rapeseed. Importantly, all of four major QTLs and most of stable QTLs (20 out of 23 detected here were related to RM traits under HN and/or LN levels, suggested that regulating RM to improve NUE would be more feasible than regulating N efficiency directly. These results provided the promising genomic regions for marker-assisted selection on RM-based NUE improvement in rapeseed.

  8. Cross-sectional study of road accidents and related law enforcement efficiency for 10 countries: A gap coherence analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urie, Yohan; Velaga, Nagendra R; Maji, Avijit

    2016-10-02

    Road crashes are considered as the eighth leading causes of death. There is a wide disparity in crash severity and law enforcement efficiency among low-, medium-, and high-income countries. It would be helpful to review the crash severity trends in these countries, identify the vulnerable road users, and understand the law enforcement effectiveness in devising efficient road safety improvement strategies. The crash severity, fatality rate among various age groups, and law enforcement strategies of 10 countries representing low-income (i.e., India and Morocco), medium-income (i.e. Argentina, South Korea, and Greece), and high-income (i.e., Australia, Canada, France, the UK, and the United States) are studied and compared for a period of 5 years (i.e., 2008 to 2012). The critical parameters affecting road safety are identified and correlated with education, culture, and basic compliance with traffic safety laws. In the process, possible road safety improvement strategies are identified for low-income countries. The number of registered vehicles shows an increasing trend for low-income countries as do the crash rate and crash severity. Compliance related to seat belt and helmet laws is high in high-income countries. In addition, recent seat belt- and helmet-related safety programs in middle-income countries helped to curb fatalities. Noncompliance with safety laws in low-income countries is attributed to education, culture, and inefficient law enforcement. Efficient law enforcement and effective safety education taking into account cultural diversity are the key aspects to reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities in low-income countries like India.

  9. An easy-to-fabricate low-temperature TiO2 electron collection layer for high efficiency planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Conings

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Organometal trihalide perovskite solar cells arguably represent the most auspicious new photovoltaic technology so far, as they possess an astonishing combination of properties. The impressive and brisk advances achieved so far bring forth highly efficient and solution processable solar cells, holding great promise to grow into a mature technology that is ready to be embedded on a large scale. However, the vast majority of state-of-the-art perovskite solar cells contains a dense TiO2 electron collection layer that requires a high temperature treatment (>450 °C, which obstructs the road towards roll-to-roll processing on flexible foils that can withstand no more than ∼150 °C. Furthermore, this high temperature treatment leads to an overall increased energy payback time and cumulative energy demand for this emerging photovoltaic technology. Here we present the implementation of an alternative TiO2 layer formed from an easily prepared nanoparticle dispersion, with annealing needs well within reach of roll-to-roll processing, making this technology also appealing from the energy payback aspect. Chemical and morphological analysis allows to understand and optimize the processing conditions of the TiO2 layer, finally resulting in a maximum obtained efficiency of 13.6% for a planar heterojunction solar cell within an ITO/TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3-xClxpoly(3-hexylthiophene/Ag architecture.

  10. Utility and performance relative to consumer product energy efficiency standards. Final technical report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coggins, J.L.

    1979-12-14

    An investigation of the relative utility and performance of nine major household consumer products covered by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act is summarized. The objective was to define the terms utility and performance, to recommend methods for quantifying these two concepts, and to recommend an approach for dealing with utility and performance issues in the energy efficiency standards program. The definitions developed are: performance of a consumer product is the objective measure of how well, with the expected level of consumer input (following the manufacturer's instructions for installation and operation), the product does its intended job; and utility of a consumer product is a subjective measure, based on the consumer's perception, of the capability of the product to satisfy human needs. Quantification is based on test procedures and consumer survey methods which are largely already in use by industry. Utility and performance issues are important in product classification for prescribing energy efficiency standards. The recommended approach to utility and performance issues and classification is: prior to setting standards, evaluate utility and performance issues in the most quantitative way allowed by resources and schedules in order to develop classification guidelines. This approach requires no changes in existing Department of Energy test procedures.

  11. Highly efficient solar-pumped Nd:YAG laser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Dawei; Almeida, Joana

    2011-12-19

    The recent progress in solar-pumped laser with Fresnel lens and Cr:Nd:YAG ceramic medium has revitalized solar laser researches, revealing a promising future for renewable reduction of magnesium from magnesium oxide. Here we show a big advance in solar laser collection efficiency by utilizing an economical Fresnel lens and a most widely used Nd:YAG single-crystal rod. The incoming solar radiation from the sun is focused by a 0.9 m diameter Fresnel lens. A dielectric totally internally reflecting secondary concentrator is employed to couple the concentrated solar radiation from the focal zone to a 4 mm diameter Nd:YAG rod within a conical pumping cavity. 12.3 W cw laser power is produced, corresponding to 19.3 W/m(2) collection efficiency, which is 2.9 times larger than the previous results with Nd:YAG single-crystal medium. Record-high slope efficiency of 3.9% is also registered. Laser beam quality is considerably improved by pumping a 3 mm diameter Nd:YAG rod.

  12. JRC GMO-Amplicons: a collection of nucleic acid sequences related to genetically modified organisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrillo, Mauro; Angers-Loustau, Alexandre; Henriksson, Peter; Bonfini, Laura; Patak, Alex; Kreysa, Joachim

    2015-01-01

    The DNA target sequence is the key element in designing detection methods for genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Unfortunately this information is frequently lacking, especially for unauthorized GMOs. In addition, patent sequences are generally poorly annotated, buried in complex and extensive documentation and hard to link to the corresponding GM event. Here, we present the JRC GMO-Amplicons, a database of amplicons collected by screening public nucleotide sequence databanks by in silico determination of PCR amplification with reference methods for GMO analysis. The European Union Reference Laboratory for Genetically Modified Food and Feed (EU-RL GMFF) provides these methods in the GMOMETHODS database to support enforcement of EU legislation and GM food/feed control. The JRC GMO-Amplicons database is composed of more than 240 000 amplicons, which can be easily accessed and screened through a web interface. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt at pooling and collecting publicly available sequences related to GMOs in food and feed. The JRC GMO-Amplicons supports control laboratories in the design and assessment of GMO methods, providing inter-alia in silico prediction of primers specificity and GM targets coverage. The new tool can assist the laboratories in the analysis of complex issues, such as the detection and identification of unauthorized GMOs. Notably, the JRC GMO-Amplicons database allows the retrieval and characterization of GMO-related sequences included in patents documentation. Finally, it can help annotating poorly described GM sequences and identifying new relevant GMO-related sequences in public databases. The JRC GMO-Amplicons is freely accessible through a web-based portal that is hosted on the EU-RL GMFF website. Database URL: http://gmo-crl.jrc.ec.europa.eu/jrcgmoamplicons/. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

  13. Exploring the relation between process design and efficiency in high-volume cataract pathways from a lean thinking perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Vliet, Ellen J.; Bredenhoff, E.; Bredenhoff, Eelco; Sermeus, Walter; Kop, Lucas M.; Sol, Johannes C.A.; van Harten, Willem H.

    2011-01-01

    Objective: To compare process designs of three high-volume cataract pathways in a lean thinking framework and to explore how efficiency in terms of lead times, hospital visits and costs is related to process design. Design: International retrospective comparative benchmark study with a mixed-method

  14. The collective emission of electromagnetic waves from astrophysical jets - Luminosity gaps, BL Lacertae objects, and efficient energy transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, D. N.; Borovsky, Joseph E.; Benford, Gregory; Eilek, Jean A.

    1988-01-01

    A model of the inner portions of astrophysical jets is constructed in which a relativistic electron beam is injected from the central engine into the jet plasma. This beam drives electrostatic plasma wave turbulence, which leads to the collective emission of electromagnetic waves. The emitted waves are beamed in the direction of the jet axis, so that end-on viewing of the jet yields an extremely bright source (BL Lacertae object). The relativistic electron beam may also drive long-wavelength electromagnetic plasma instabilities (firehose and Kelvin-Helmholtz) that jumble the jet magnetic field lines. After a sufficient distance from the core source, these instabilities will cause the beamed emission to point in random directions and the jet emission can then be observed from any direction relative to the jet axis. This combination of effects may lead to the gap turn-on of astrophysical jets. The collective emission model leads to different estimates for energy transport and the interpretation of radio spectra than the conventional incoherent synchrotron theory.

  15. The Relative Efficiencies of Research Universities of Science and Technology in China: Based on the Data Envelopment Analysis and Stochastic Frontier Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuanyi, Wang; Xiaohong, Lv; Shikui, Zhao

    2016-01-01

    This paper applies data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to explore the relative efficiency of China's research universities of science and technology. According to the finding, when talent training is the only output, the efficiency of research universities of science and technology is far lower than that of…

  16. Innovations with services relating to energy efficiency. Basic information and examples; Innovationen mit Dienstleistungen im Bereich Energieeffizienz. Basisinformationen und Beispiele

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knoll, Michael; Kollnig, Sarah; Oertel, Britta

    2010-07-01

    This study describes how the ''Energy Efficient City'' competition is intended to promote activities towards greater energy efficiency which relate to cities as systems, are innovative, and conceive of and incorporate services as part of the solution. ''Innovation with services'' is not only about the further development of existing services but more particularly about the creation of high-quality services in growth areas which can serve to speed up innovation and create new application potentials for technical developments. They should be based on a holistic view on urban processes of energy use and energy supply and give consideration to all relevant stakeholders. The ''Energy Efficient City'' competition is aimed at systematically linking innovations with services to energy efficiency issues. The implementation of these goals will be facilitated by accompanying research. To this end the present text provides information on how services can be geared to energy efficiency.

  17. Seasonality directs contrasting food collection behavior and nutrient regulation strategies in ants.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven C Cook

    Full Text Available Long-lived animals, including social insects, often display seasonal shifts in foraging behavior. Foraging is ultimately a nutrient consumption exercise, but the effect of seasonality per se on changes in foraging behavior, particularly as it relates to nutrient regulation, is poorly understood. Here, we show that field-collected fire ant colonies, returned to the laboratory and maintained under identical photoperiod, temperature, and humidity regimes, and presented with experimental foods that had different protein (p to carbohydrate (c ratios, practice summer- and fall-specific foraging behaviors with respect to protein-carbohydrate regulation. Summer colonies increased the amount of food collected as the p:c ratio of their food became increasingly imbalanced, but fall colonies collected similar amounts of food regardless of the p:c ratio of their food. Choice experiments revealed that feeding was non-random, and that both fall and summer ants preferred carbohydrate-biased food. However, ants rarely ate all the food they collected, and their cached or discarded food always contained little carbohydrate relative to protein. From a nutrient regulation strategy, ants consumed most of the carbohydrate they collected, but regulated protein consumption to a similar level, regardless of season. We suggest that varied seasonal food collection behaviors and nutrient regulation strategies may be an adaptation that allows long-lived animals to meet current and future nutrient demands when nutrient-rich foods are abundant (e.g. spring and summer, and to conserve energy and be metabolically more efficient when nutritionally balanced foods are less abundant.

  18. Relative Efficiency of Split-plot Design (SPD) to Randomized ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PROF. O. E. OSUAGWU

    2013-06-01

    Jun 1, 2013 ... West African Journal of Industrial and Academic Research Vol.7 No. 1 June .... effects. They concluded that the proposed efficiency measures provide feasible solutions for .... Fm = d.f for the whole-plot treatment; Fb= d.f for the ...

  19. Biomimetic "Cactus Spine" with Hierarchical Groove Structure for Efficient Fog Collection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Fan; Wu, Juntao; Gong, Guangming; Guo, Lin

    2015-07-01

    A biomimetic "cactus spine" with hierarchical groove structure is designed and fabricated using simple electrospinning. This novel artificial cactus spine possesses excellent fog collection and water transportation ability. A model cactus equipped with artificial spines also shows a great water storage capacity. The results can be helpful in the development of water collectors and may make a contribution to the world water crisis.

  20. Relative Efficiency of Field and Online Strategies in the Recruitment of HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex With Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vial, Andrea C; Starks, Tyrel J; Parsons, Jeffrey T

    2015-04-01

    Efforts to reach HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) and link them to care must be expanded; however, finding and recruiting them remains a challenge. We compared the efficiency of three recruitment sources in reaching self-identified HIV-positive MSM with various characteristics. Relative to recruitment online and at clubs and bars, AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) were significantly more efficient in reaching HIV-positive MSM in general. This was also true for those with specific characteristics of interest such as substance/stimulant use, and HIV-positive MSM who were racial/ethnic minorities. Both ASOs and online recruitment were more efficient than clubs and bars in reaching HIV-positive MSM not taking HIV medication. This was also the case for White HIV-positive MSM in general, and White HIV-positive MSM who used substances and stimulants. Online recruitment was also more efficient than clubs and bars in reaching HIV-positive MSM who were young across the board.

  1. Solar energy collection by antennas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Corkish, R.; Green, M.A.; Puzzer, T. [University of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia). Centre for Advanced Silicon Photovoltaics and Photonics

    2002-12-01

    The idea of collecting solar electromagnetic radiation with antenna-rectifier (rectenna) structures was proposed three decades ago but has not yet been achieved. The idea has been promoted as having potential to achieve efficiency approaching 100% but thermodynamic considerations imply a lower limit of 85.4% for a non-frequency-selective rectenna and 86.8% for one with infinite selectivity, assuming maximal concentration in each case. This paper reviews the history and technical context of solar rectennas and discusses the major issues: thermodynamic efficiency limits, rectifier operation at optical frequencies, harmonics production and electrical noise. (author)

  2. Collective Efficacy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Ying; Zhou, Xiaohu; Klyver, Kim

    2018-01-01

    at manufacturing companies show that benevolent leadership and moral leadership, both components of paternalistic leadership, are positively related to organizational commitment and further that collective efficacy mediates the moral leadership–organizational commitment relationship. We did not find a relationship...... between authoritarian leadership and organizational commitment. Besides, it was found that team cohesion negatively moderates the relationship between moral leadership and collective efficacy and positively moderates the relationship between collective efficacy and organizational commitment. Explanations......Based on social cognitive theory, we theorize that collective efficacy plays a mediating role in the relationship between paternalistic leadership and organizational commitment and that this mediating role depends on team cohesion. The empirical results from a study of 238 employees from 52 teams...

  3. Energy efficiency and the influence of gas burners to the energy related carbon dioxide emissions of electric arc furnaces in steel industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirschen, Marcus; Risonarta, Victor; Pfeifer, Herbert

    2009-01-01

    Determining the complete energy balance of an electric arc furnace (EAF) provides an appropriate method to examine energy efficiency and identify energy saving potentials. However, the EAF energy balance is complex due to the combined input of electrical energy and chemical energy resulting from natural gas (NG) combustion and oxidation reactions in the steel melt. In addition, furnace off-gas measurements and slag analysis are necessary to reliably determine energy sinks. In this paper 70 energy balances and energy efficiencies from multiple EAFs are presented, including data calculated from plant measurements and compiled from the literature. Potential errors that can be incorporated in these calculations are also highlighted. The total energy requirement of these modern EAFs analysed ranged from 510 to 880 kWh/t, with energy efficiency values (η = ΔH Steel /E Total ) of between 40% and 75%. Furthermore, the focus was placed on the total energy related CO 2 emissions of EAF processes comprising NG combustion and electrical energy input. By assessing multiple EAF energy balances, a significant correlation between the total energy requirement and energy related specific CO 2 emissions was not evident. Whilst the specific consumption of NG in the EAF only had a minor impact on the EAF energy efficiency, it decreased the specific electrical energy requirement and increased EAF productivity where transformer power was restricted. The analysis also demonstrated that complementing and substituting electrical energy with NG was beneficial in reducing the total energy related CO 2 emissions when a certain level of substitution efficiency was achieved. Therefore, the appropriate use of NG burners in modern EAFs can result in an increased EAF energy intensity, whilst the total energy related CO 2 emissions remain constant or are even decreased.

  4. Fiber composition of a diversity panel of the world collection of sugarcane (Saccharum spp. and related grasses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Ryan Todd

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The world collection of sugarcane (Saccharum hybrids. and related grasses (WCSRG is an important source of genes for sugarcane and energycane breeding. The core collection or diversity panel of the WCSRG was created in Canal Point with 300 accession and 10 checks to evaluate its diversity. The fiber components of the species and accessions within the WCSRG are unknown, so a shredded and dried fiber sample was taken from each accession and sent for fiber analysis. The acetyl groups, acid insoluble lignin, acid soluble lignin, arabinan, glucan, holocellulose, total lignin, structural ash, and xylan were quantified on a % fiber basis and nonstructural ash on a % total basis. There were significant, but not large differences between species for holocellulose, lignin, acetyl, acid soluble lignin, nonstructural ash, and glucan. For each trait, Saccharum spontaneum had significantly more holocellulose, glucan, lignin, and nonstructural ash and less acetyl and acid soluble lignin than other species. In all populations, glucan and holocellulose were positively correlated and glucan and lignin were negatively correlated. In hybrids, internode length correlated positively with holocellulose and nonstructural ash and negatively with lignin. Principal component analysis indicated that a large amount of diversity exists within each of the species. The results suggest that strategic use of the WCSRG could provide both positive and negative selection for fiber-related traits could be made within all species of the collection.

  5. From energy efficiency towards resource efficiency within the Ecodesign Directive

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bundgaard, Anja Marie; Mosgaard, Mette; Remmen, Arne

    2017-01-01

    on the most significant environmental impact has often resulted in a focus on energy efficiency in the use phase. Therefore, the Ecodesign Directive should continue to target resource efficiency aspects but also consider environ- mental aspects with a large improvement potential in addition to the most...... significant environmental impact. For the introduction of resource efficiency requirements into the Ecodesign Directive, these requirements have to be included in the preparatory study. It is therefore recommended to broaden the scope of the Methodology for the Ecodesign of Energy-related products and the Eco......The article examines the integration of resource efficiency into the European Ecodesign Directive. The purpose is to analyse the processes and stakeholder interactions, which formed the basis for integrating resource efficiency requirements into the implementing measure for vacuum cleaners...

  6. Sample collection of virulent and non-virulent B. anthracis and Y. pestis for bioforensics analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hong-geller, Elizabeth [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Valdez, Yolanda E [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Shou, Yulin [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Yoshida, Thomas M [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Marrone, Babetta L [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Dunbar, John [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2009-01-01

    Validated sample collection methods are needed for recovery of microbial evidence in the event of accidental or intentional release of biological agents into the environment. To address this need, we evaluated the sample recovery efficiencies of two collection methods -- swabs and wipes -- for both non-virulent and virulent strains of B. anthracis and Y. pestis from four types of non-porous surfaces: two hydrophilic surfaces, stainless steel and glass, and two hydrophobic surfaces, vinyl and plastic. Sample recovery was quantified using Real-time qPCR to assay for intact DNA signatures. We found no consistent difference in collection efficiency between swabs or wipes. Furthermore, collection efficiency was more surface-dependent for virulent strains than non-virulent strains. For the two non-virulent strains, B. anthracis Sterne and Y. pestis A1122, collection efficiency was approximately 100% and 1 %, respectively, from all four surfaces. In contrast, recovery of B. anthracis Ames spores and Y. pestis C092 from vinyl and plastic was generally lower compared to collection from glass or stainless steel, suggesting that surface hydrophobicity may playa role in the strength of pathogen adhesion. The surface-dependent collection efficiencies observed with the virulent strains may arise from strain-specific expression of capsular material or other cell surface receptors that alter cell adhesion to specific surfaces. These findings contribute to validation of standard bioforensics procedures and emphasize the importance of specific strain and surface interactions in pathogen detection.

  7. Excitation of collective plasma modes during collisions between dust grains and the formation of dust plasma crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goree, J.A.; Morfill, G.; Tsytovich, V.N.

    1998-01-01

    Dust plasma crystals have recently been produced in experiments in a number of laboratories. For dust crystallization to occur, there should exist an efficient mechanism for the cooling of the dust plasma component. It is shown that the excitation of collective plasma modes during collisions between the grains may serve as the required cooling mechanism. The excitation of dust sound waves is found to be most efficient. It is shown that the cooling of dust grains via the excitation of collective plasma modes can be even more efficient than that due to collisions with neutral particles, which was previously considered to be the only mechanism for cooling of the dust plasma component. At present, the first experiments are being carried out to study collisions between individual dust grains. High efficiency of the excitation of plasma modes caused by collisions between dust grains is attributed to the coherent displacement of the plasma particles that shield the grains. it is shown that the excitation efficiency is proportional to the fourth power of the charge of the dust grains and to a large power of their relative velocity, and is independent of their mass. The results obtained can be checked in experiments studying how the binary collisions between dust grains and the pressure of the neutral component influence the dust crystallization

  8. Recovery efficiencies for Burkholderia thailandensis from various aerosol sampling media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul eDabisch

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Burkholderia thailandensis is used in the laboratory as a surrogate of the more virulent B. pseudomallei. Since inhalation is believed to be a natural route of infection for B. pseudomallei, many animal studies with B. pseudomallei and B. thailandensis utilize the inhalation route of exposure. The aim of the present study was to quantify the recovery efficiency of culturable B. thailandensis from several common aerosol sampling devices to ensure that collected microorganisms could be reliably recovered post-collection. The sampling devices tested included 25-mm gelatin filters, 25-mm stainless steel disks used in Mercer cascade impactors, and two types of glass impingers. The results demonstrate that while several processing methods tested resulted in significantly lower physical recovery efficiencies than other methods, it was possible to obtain culturable recovery efficiencies for B. thailandensis and physical recovery efficiencies for 1 μm fluorescent spheres of at least 0.95 from all of the sampling media tested given an appropriate sample processing procedure. The results of the present study also demonstrated that the bubbling action of liquid media in all-glass impingers (AGIs can result in physical loss of material from the collection medium, although additional studies are needed to verify the exact mechanisms involved. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate that the collection mechanism as well as the post-collection processing method can significantly affect the recovery from and retention of culturable microorganisms in sampling media, potentially affecting the calculated airborne concentration and any subsequent estimations of risk or dose derived from such data.

  9. Inter-firm and intra-firm efficiency measures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oude Lansink, A.G.J.M.; Silva, E.; Stefanou, S.

    2001-01-01

    Intra-firm efficiency involves computing a particular firm's efficiency degree over time relative to the firm-specific production frontier. Inter-firm efficiency reveals a particular firm's performance over time relative to the ``best practice frontier'' among the set of comparable firms. These

  10. The influence of institutions and organizations on urban waste collection systems: an analysis of waste collection system in Accra, Ghana (1985-2000).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fobil, Julius N; Armah, Nathaniel A; Hogarh, Jonathan N; Carboo, Derick

    2008-01-01

    Urban waste collection system is a pivotal component of all waste management schemes around the world. Therefore, the efficient performance and the success of these schemes in urban pollution control rest on the ability of the collection systems to fully adapt to the prevailing cultural and social contexts within which they operate. Conceptually, institutions being the rules guiding the conduct of public service provision and routine social interactions, waste collection systems embedded in institutions can only realize their potentials if they fully evolve continuously to reflect evolving social and technical matrices underlying the cultures, organizations, institutions and social conditions they are designed to address. This paper is a product of an analysis of waste collection performance in Ghana under two different institutional and/or organizational regimes; from an initial entirely public sector dependence to a current mix of public-private sector participation drawing on actual planning data from 1985 to 2000. The analysis found that the overall performance of waste collection services in Ghana increased under the coupled system, with efficiency (in terms of total waste clearance and coverage of service provision) increasing rapidly with increased private-sector controls and levels of involvement, e.g. for solid waste, collection rate and disposal improved from 51% in 1998 to about 91% in the year 2000. However, such an increase in performance could not be sustained beyond 10 years of public-private partnerships. This analysis argues that the sustainability of improved waste collection efficiency is a function of the franchise and lease arrangements between private sector group on the one hand and public sector group (local authorities) on the other hand. The analysis therefore concludes that if such franchise and lease arrangements are not conceived out of an initial transparent process, such a provision could undermine the overall sustainability of

  11. On the Quality of Collective Decisions in Sociotechnical Systems: Transparency, Fairness, and Efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porello, Daniele

    The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology for evaluating the quality of collective decisions in sociotechnical systems (STS). We propose using a foundational ontology for conceptualizing the complex hierarchy of information involved in decisions in STS (e.g., normative, conceptual, factual, perceptual). Moreover, we introduce the concept of transparency of decisions as a necessary condition in order to assess the quality of decision-making in STS. We further view transparency as an entitlement of the agent affected by the decision: i.e., the collective decision should be justified.

  12. Measuring relative efficiency of applied science and technology universities in province of Semnan, Iran and providing suggestions for merging units

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abolfazl Danaei

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available University of applied science and technology has been designed to create a platform for multilateral activities such as industrial, military and academic in developing countries to promote science and scientific research applications. These universities are responsible to promote practical training in quantitative and qualitative indicators and they provide appropriate infrastructure to implement theoretical graduates to solve practical problems to build necessary infrastructure to transfer modern technology into developing countries. During the past few years, there have been tremendous development on these units but some of them have not been efficient. In this paper, we present an empirical study to measure the relative efficiencies of various units of applied science and technology universities using data envelopment analysis. The proposed model of this paper uses two inputs including human resources as well as total assets and two outputs including the number of graduate students as well as operating profit. The results of the study have indicated that some of the units are inefficient and need to be merged with other units to increase the relative efficiency of these universities.

  13. Efficiency corrections in determining the 137Cs inventory of environmental soil samples by using relative measurement method and GEANT4 simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Gang; Liang, Yongfei; Xu, Jiayun; Bai, Lixin

    2015-01-01

    The determination of 137 Cs inventory is widely used to estimate the soil erosion or deposition rate. The generally used method to determine the activity of volumetric samples is the relative measurement method, which employs a calibration standard sample with accurately known activity. This method has great advantages in accuracy and operation only when there is a small difference in elemental composition, sample density and geometry between measuring samples and the calibration standard. Otherwise it needs additional efficiency corrections in the calculating process. The Monte Carlo simulations can handle these correction problems easily with lower financial cost and higher accuracy. This work presents a detailed description to the simulation and calibration procedure for a conventionally used commercial P-type coaxial HPGe detector with cylindrical sample geometry. The effects of sample elemental composition, density and geometry were discussed in detail and calculated in terms of efficiency correction factors. The effect of sample placement was also analyzed, the results indicate that the radioactive nuclides and sample density are not absolutely uniform distributed along the axial direction. At last, a unified binary quadratic functional relationship of efficiency correction factors as a function of sample density and height was obtained by the least square fitting method. This function covers the sample density and height range of 0.8–1.8 g/cm 3 and 3.0–7.25 cm, respectively. The efficiency correction factors calculated by the fitted function are in good agreement with those obtained by the GEANT4 simulations with the determination coefficient value greater than 0.9999. The results obtained in this paper make the above-mentioned relative measurements more accurate and efficient in the routine radioactive analysis of environmental cylindrical soil samples. - Highlights: • Determination of 137 Cs inventory in environmental soil samples by using relative

  14. Fate of N and relative efficiency of 15N-labeled organic materials applied to transplanted rice in northern Kyushu region of Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishida, Mizuhiko; Tsuchiya, Kazunari; Yamamuro, Shigekazu

    2004-01-01

    Seven kinds of 15 N-labeled organic materials were applied to transplanted rice to investigate their N fate and relative efficiency in the northern Kyushu region of Japan. The 15 N-labeled organic materials examined in a micro-plot experiment were cattle manure compost, poultry manure compost, swine feces, rice straw compost, rice bran, rice straw, and wheat straw. Regarding swine feces, rice bran, and wheat straw, the direct evaluation of their N fate in paddy fields using 15 N organic materials has not been reported. A significant difference in the N fate in response to the type of organic materials was observed in the uptake rate by rice plants. The uptake rate at the maturity stage was significantly higher in poultry manure (29%), swine feces (25%), and rice bran (26%) than for the other organic materials (6-13%). Cattle manure compost showed the lowest value, namely 6-7%. Using the uptake rate of ( 15 NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 observed earlier, the relative efficiency of organ nic materials (relative uptake rate of organic material N to chemical fertilizer N) was calculated as the index of the organic material N efficiency. These relative efficiencies of organic materials derived from animal wastes were 16-19, 81, 72, and 71% for cattle manure compost, poultry manure compost, poultry manure compost without inherent NH 4 -H, and swine feces, respectively, and were similar to those estimated by indirect way. The relative efficiencies of organic materials derived from plant residues were 25-31, 73, 33 and 34% for rice straw compost, rice bran, rice straw, and wheat straw, respectively. The N uptake from the organic materials (OM-N uptake) in swine feces and cattle manure compost continued throughout the rice growth period, whereas the OM-N uptake of the other organic materials declined remarkably after 54 DAT. No significant difference was observed in the residual rate and the loss rate among the organic materials. However, some tendencies that might be related to the

  15. Numerical study of particle capture efficiency in fibrous filter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fan Jianhua

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Numerical simulations are performed for transport and deposition of particles over a fixed obstacle in a fluid flow. The effect of particle size and Stokes number on the particle capture efficiency is investigated using two methods. The first one is one-way coupling combining Lattice Boltzmann (LB method with Lagrangian point-like approach. The second one is two-way coupling based on the coupling between Lattice Boltzmann method and discrete element (DE method, which consider the particle influence on the fluid. Then the single fiber collection efficiency characterized by Stokes number (St are simulated by LB-DE methods. Results show that two-way coupling method is more appropriate in our case for particles larger than 8 μm. A good agreement has also been observed between our simulation results and existing correlations for single fiber collection efficiency. The numerical simulations presented in this work are useful to understand the particle transport and deposition and to predict the capture efficiency.

  16. The Fifteen-Year Attitude History of the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 Radiator and Collection Efficiencies for Micrometeoroids and Orbital Debris

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anz-Meador, Phillip D.; Liou, Jer-Chyi; Cooke, William J.; Koehler, H.

    2010-01-01

    An examination of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC-2) radiator assembly was conducted at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) during the summer of 2009. Immediately apparent was a distinct biasing of the largest 45 impact features towards one side of the radiator, in contrast to an approximately uniform distribution of smaller impacts. Such a distribution may be a consequence of the HST s attitude history and pointing requirements for the cold radiator, or of environmental effects, such as an anisotropic distribution of the responsible population in that size regime. Understanding the size-dependent spatial distribution of impact features is essential to the general analysis of these features. We have obtained from GSFC a 15 minute temporal resolution record of the state vector (Earth Centered Inertial position and velocity) and HST attitude, consisting of the orientation of the velocity and HST-sun vectors in HST body coordinates. This paper reviews the actual state vector and attitude history of the radiator in the context of the randomly tumbling plate assumption and assesses the statistical likelihood (or collection efficiency) of the radiator for the micrometeoroid and orbital debris environments. The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center s Meteoroid Environment Model is used to assess the micrometeoroid component. The NASA Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) is used to model the orbital debris component. Modeling results are compared with observations of the impact feature spatial distribution, and the relative contribution of each environmental component are examined in detail.

  17. Analysis of Cherenkov counter efficiencies for E691

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cremaldi, L.; Elliott, J.; Gibney, M.; Nauenberg, U.

    1985-01-01

    A program is outlined which simulates Cherenkov counters. The program can compute the effect of the magnetic field on the efficiencies of Cherenkov counters. It also tells what cone to mirror distance gives the highest collection efficiency and at which target position should the laser be placed to represent the direction of the actual Cherenkov light the mirror sees

  18. Maximizing the performance of a multiple-stage variable-throat venturi scrubber for particle collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muir, D. M.; Akeredolu, F.

    The high collection efficiencies that are required nowadays to meet the stricter pollution control standards necessitate the use of high-energy scrubbers, such as the venturi scrubber, for the arrestment of fine particulate matter from exhaust gas streams. To achieve more energy-efficient particle collection, several venturi stages may be used in series. This paper is principally a theoretical investigation of the performance of a multiple-stage venturi scrubber, the main objective of the study being to establish the best venturi design configuration for any given set of operating conditions. A mathematical model is used to predict collection efficiency vs pressure drop relationships for particle sizes in the range 0.2-5.0 μm for one-, two-, three- and four-stage scrubbers. The theoretical predictions are borne out qualitatively by experimental work. The paper shows that the three-stage venturi produces the highest collection efficiencies over the normal operating range except for the collection of very fine particles at low pressure drops, when the single-stage venturi is best. The significant improvement in performance achieved by the three-stage venturi when compared with conventional single-stage operation increases as both the particle size and system pressure drop increase.

  19. Marketing energy-efficient solar houses: A method to locate and identify people who will buy energy-efficient solar houses, or related services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D'Alessio, G.

    1999-01-01

    Houses built in New England within the last six years, equal to or exceeding energy-efficiency standards from Energy Crafted Homes (ECH) or from DOE's Energy Star Homes are termed energy-efficient for this study. An assumption is that people who purchase houses being newly constructed may request special features including more energy-efficient features. The average house being constructed today is not as energy-efficient as it could easily be; therefore, owners of recently constructed energy-efficient houses may be termed early-adopters of an innovation. It has been demonstrated that early adopters have different personal attitudes and perceptions of an innovation compared to later-adopters. Both types of adopters--owners of recently constructed energy-efficient or energy-inefficient houses, have been surveyed in New England to determine whether their differences are significant enough to be used in identifying future potential early-adopters. Solar houses also are usually energy-efficient, and should be termed an innovation

  20. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS EFFICIENT MASS VALUATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koshel A.

    2016-08-01

    composition of results and consideration of cost, given different definitions of efficiency and offered various ways to measure. The question of social, environmental and other efficiency are considered generally as elements that complement economic efficiency. For land evaluation work efficiency are the following types: economic (increase in tax collection and tax payments; ecological (removal of the negative impact on the earth, the environment; social (improvement of living conditions of the population in a particular area; information (identifying objects not previously recorded, increasing the number of taxpayers. Achieving economic or social effect due to the need for ongoing and one-time costs. The ongoing related costs included in cost of production. In order to improve the efficiency of monetary value of land mass based methods, in our view, to apply emergency measures to correct the situation in the monetary evaluation assessments, namely: - need to develop clear and understandable regulations for the implementation of mass land valuation, passage of expertise, information and other aspects of the implementation of inventory and evaluation work; - should develop new or significantly alter already existing methods so that they meet the requirements of international law, international standards of evaluation, and allow the user to understand the simple manufacturing process works; - appraiser who performs the mass appraisal should be fully independent and protected by law from public authorities.

  1. Novel Approach to Increase the Energy-related Process Efficiency and Performance of Laser Brazing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mittelstädt, C.; Seefeld, T.; Radel, T.; Vollertsen, F.

    Although laser brazing is well established, the energy-related efficiency of this joining method is quite low. That is because of low absorptivity of solid-state laser radiation, especially when copper base braze metals are used. Conventionally the laser beam is set close to the vertical axis and the filler wire is delivered under a flat angle. Therefore, the most of the utilized laser power is reflected and thus left unexploited. To address this situation an alternative processing concept for laser brazing, where the laser beam is leading the filler wire, has been investigated intending to make use of reflected shares of the laser radiation. Process monitoring shows, that the reflection of the laser beam can be used purposefully to preheat the substrate which is supporting the wetting and furthermore increasing the efficiency of the process. Experiments address a standard application from the automotive industry joining zinc coated steels using CuSi3Mn1 filler wire. Feasibility of the alternative processing concept is demonstrated, showing that higher processing speeds can be attained, reducing the required energy per unit length while maintaining joint properties.

  2. DamaGIS: a multisource geodatabase for collection of flood-related damage data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saint-Martin, Clotilde; Javelle, Pierre; Vinet, Freddy

    2018-06-01

    Every year in France, recurring flood events result in several million euros of damage, and reducing the heavy consequences of floods has become a high priority. However, actions to reduce the impact of floods are often hindered by the lack of damage data on past flood events. The present paper introduces a new database for collection and assessment of flood-related damage. The DamaGIS database offers an innovative bottom-up approach to gather and identify damage data from multiple sources, including new media. The study area has been defined as the south of France considering the high frequency of floods over the past years. This paper presents the structure and contents of the database. It also presents operating instructions in order to keep collecting damage data within the database. This paper also describes an easily reproducible method to assess the severity of flood damage regardless of the location or date of occurrence. A first analysis of the damage contents is also provided in order to assess data quality and the relevance of the database. According to this analysis, despite its lack of comprehensiveness, the DamaGIS database presents many advantages. Indeed, DamaGIS provides a high accuracy of data as well as simplicity of use. It also has the additional benefit of being accessible in multiple formats and is open access. The DamaGIS database is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1241089" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1241089.

  3. 78 FR 65656 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-01

    ... collection; Title of Information Collection: Health Insurance Benefit Agreement; Use: Applicants to the... responsibilities related to the certification and offering of Qualified Health Plans (QHPs). To offer insurance through an Exchange, a health insurance issuer must have its health plans certified as QHPs by the...

  4. A double-mutant collection targeting MAP kinase related genes in Arabidopsis for studying genetic interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Shih-Heng; Krysan, Patrick J

    2016-12-01

    Mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades are conserved in all eukaryotes. In Arabidopsis thaliana there are approximately 80 genes encoding MAP kinase kinase kinases (MAP3K), 10 genes encoding MAP kinase kinases (MAP2K), and 20 genes encoding MAP kinases (MAPK). Reverse genetic analysis has failed to reveal abnormal phenotypes for a majority of these genes. One strategy for uncovering gene function when single-mutant lines do not produce an informative phenotype is to perform a systematic genetic interaction screen whereby double-mutants are created from a large library of single-mutant lines. Here we describe a new collection of 275 double-mutant lines derived from a library of single-mutants targeting genes related to MAP kinase signaling. To facilitate this study, we developed a high-throughput double-mutant generating pipeline using a system for growing Arabidopsis seedlings in 96-well plates. A quantitative root growth assay was used to screen for evidence of genetic interactions in this double-mutant collection. Our screen revealed four genetic interactions, all of which caused synthetic enhancement of the root growth defects observed in a MAP kinase 4 (MPK4) single-mutant line. Seeds for this double-mutant collection are publicly available through the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center. Scientists interested in diverse biological processes can now screen this double-mutant collection under a wide range of growth conditions in order to search for additional genetic interactions that may provide new insights into MAP kinase signaling. © 2016 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Negotiating power relations, gender equality, and collective agency: are village health committees transformative social spaces in northern India?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Kerry; George, Asha S; Harvey, Steven A; Mondal, Shinjini; Patel, Gupteswar; Sheikh, Kabir

    2017-09-15

    Participatory health initiatives ideally support progressive social change and stronger collective agency for marginalized groups. However, this empowering potential is often limited by inequalities within communities and between communities and outside actors (i.e. government officials, policymakers). We examined how the participatory initiative of Village Health, Sanitation, and Nutrition Committees (VHSNCs) can enable and hinder the renegotiation of power in rural north India. Over 18 months, we conducted 74 interviews and 18 focus groups with VHSNC members (including female community health workers and local government officials), non-VHSNC community members, NGO staff, and higher-level functionaries. We observed 54 VHSNC-related events (such as trainings and meetings). Initial thematic network analysis supported further examination of power relations, gendered "social spaces," and the "discourses of responsibility" that affected collective agency. VHSNCs supported some re-negotiation of intra-community inequalities, for example by enabling some women to speak in front of men and perform assertive public roles. However, the extent to which these new gender dynamics transformed relations beyond the VHSNC was limited. Furthermore, inequalities between the community and outside stakeholders were re-entrenched through a "discourse of responsibility": The comparatively powerful outside stakeholders emphasized community responsibility for improving health without acknowledging or correcting barriers to effective VHSNC action. In response, some community members blamed peers for not taking up this responsibility, reinforcing a negative collective identity where participation was futile because no one would work for the greater good. Others resisted this discourse, arguing that the VHSNC alone was not responsible for taking action: Government must also intervene. This counter-narrative also positioned VHSNC participation as futile. Interventions to strengthen

  6. High-efficiency single-photon source: The photonic wire geometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Claudon, J.; Bazin, Maela; Malik, Nitin S.

    2009-01-01

    We present a single-photon-source design based on the emission of a quantum dot embedded in a semiconductor (GaAs) nanowire. The nanowire ends are engineered (efficient metallic mirror and tip taper) to reach a predicted record-high collection efficiency of 90% with a realistic design. Preliminar...

  7. Collection and recycling of electronic scrap: A worldwide overview and comparison with the Brazilian situation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reis de Oliveira, Camila; Moura Bernardes, Andréa; Gerbase, Annelise Engel

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Review of the different e-waste collection systems and recycling processes. ► We present the e-waste collection systems used in Europe and in the US. ► We present e-waste collection systems used in Asia and Latin America. ► E-waste management between developed and developing countries is very different. ► We made a comparison of the world situation to the current Brazilian reality. - Abstract: Recycling and the related issue of sustainable development are increasing in importance around the world. In Brazil, the new National Policy on Solid Wastes has prompted discussion on the future of electronic waste (e-waste). Over the last 10 years, different e-waste collection systems and recycling processes have been applied globally. This paper presents the systems used in different countries and compares the world situation to the current Brazilian reality. To establish a recycling process, it is necessary to organize efficient collection management. The main difficulty associated with the implementation of e-waste recycling processes in Brazil is the collection system, as its efficiency depends not only on the education and cooperation of the people but also on cooperation among industrial waste generators, distributors and the government. Over half a million waste pickers have been reported in Brazil and they are responsible for the success of metal scrap collection in the country. The country also has close to 2400 companies and cooperatives involved in recycling and scrap trading. On the other hand, the collection and recycling of e-waste is still incipient because e-wastes are not seen as valuable in the informal sector. The Brazilian challenge is therefore to organize a system of e-waste management including the informal sector without neglecting environmentally sound management principles.

  8. Utility of QR codes in biological collections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diazgranados, Mauricio; Funk, Vicki A

    2013-01-01

    The popularity of QR codes for encoding information such as URIs has increased exponentially in step with the technological advances and availability of smartphones, digital tablets, and other electronic devices. We propose using QR codes on specimens in biological collections to facilitate linking vouchers' electronic information with their associated collections. QR codes can efficiently provide such links for connecting collections, photographs, maps, ecosystem notes, citations, and even GenBank sequences. QR codes have numerous advantages over barcodes, including their small size, superior security mechanisms, increased complexity and quantity of information, and low implementation cost. The scope of this paper is to initiate an academic discussion about using QR codes on specimens in biological collections.

  9. Utility of QR codes in biological collections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mauricio Diazgranados

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The popularity of QR codes for encoding information such as URIs has increased exponentially in step with the technological advances and availability of smartphones, digital tablets, and other electronic devices. We propose using QR codes on specimens in biological collections to facilitate linking vouchers’ electronic information with their associated collections. QR codes can efficiently provide such links for connecting collections, photographs, maps, ecosystem notes, citations, and even GenBank sequences. QR codes have numerous advantages over barcodes, including their small size, superior security mechanisms, increased complexity and quantity of information, and low implementation cost. The scope of this paper is to initiate an academic discussion about using QR codes on specimens in biological collections.

  10. The effect of right ventricular pacing on myocardial oxidative metabolism and efficiency: relation with left ventricular dyssynchrony

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ukkonen, Heikki; Saraste, Antti; Koistinen, Juhani [Turku University Hospital, Department of Medicine, P.O. Box 52, Turku (Finland); Tops, Laurens; Bax, Jeroen [Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden (Netherlands); Naum, Alexander [University of Turku, Turku PET Centre, Turku (Finland); Knuuti, Juhani [University of Turku, Turku PET Centre, Turku (Finland); Turku University Hospital, Turku PET Centre, P.O. Box 52, Turku (Finland)

    2009-12-15

    Right ventricular (RV) apical pacing induces dyssynchrony by a left bundle branch block type electrical activation sequence in the heart and may impair left ventricular (LV) function. Whether these functional changes are accompanied by changes in myocardial perfusion, oxidative metabolism and efficiency, and the relation with the induction of LV dyssynchrony are unknown. Our study was designed to investigate the acute effects of RV pacing on these parameters. Ten patients with normal LV ejection fraction and VVI/DDD pacemaker were studied during AAI pacing/sinus rhythm without RV pacing (pacing-OFF) and with RV pacing (pacing-ON) at the same heart rate. Dynamic [{sup 15}O]water and [{sup 11}C]acetate positron emission tomography was used to measure perfusion and oxidative metabolism (k{sub mono}) of the LV. An echocardiographic examination was used to assess LV stroke volume (SV) and LV dyssynchrony. Myocardial efficiency of forward work was calculated as systolic blood pressure x cardiac output/LV mass/k{sub mono}. RV pacing decreased SV in all subjects (mean decrease 13%, from 76 {+-} 7 to 66 {+-} 7 ml, p = 0.004), but global perfusion and k{sub mono} were unchanged. The efficiency tended to be lower with pacing-ON (70 {+-} 20 vs 81 {+-} 21 mmHg l/g, p = 0.066). In patients with dyssynchrony during pacing (n = 6) efficiency decreased by 23% (from 78 {+-} 25 to 60 {+-} 14 mmHg l/g, p = 0.02), but in patients without dyssynchrony no change in efficiency was detected. Accordingly, heterogeneity in myocardial perfusion and oxidative metabolism was detected during pacing in patients with dyssynchrony but not in those without dyssynchrony. RV pacing resulted in a significant decrease in SV. However, deleterious effects on LV oxidative metabolism and efficiency were observed only in patients with dyssynchrony during RV pacing. (orig.)

  11. The welcoming on the collective perspective: Welcoming collective body.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcia Maria Cappellano dos Santos

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The welcoming, on the singular e collective perspective, constitutes today in one of the main pillars that sustain the theorist organization, the practices and the strategic systems on the touristic planning in the private and public sphere. Thus, with the objective to contribute to a distinction in the processes that involve the welcoming on the singular and collective form it is presented the Welcoming Collective Body which has been developed from a study carried in potentially touristic communities. The model is implied as a system that covers: a the joint of the available services in the range from internal/external relations; b the managing organization with an operational nature that is public and private; c the culture and the knowledge generated, shared and transmitted by the group/community. The model allows the study of the welcoming/hospitality phenomenon in the context of the relations in which one body is constituted jointly.

  12. Evaluation of the efficiency of computer-aided spectra search systems based on information theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaarschmidt, K.

    1979-01-01

    Application of information theory allows objective evaluation of the efficiency of computer-aided spectra search systems. For this purpose, a significant number of search processes must be analyzed. The amount of information gained by computer application is considered as the difference between the entropy of the data bank and a conditional entropy depending on the proportion of unsuccessful search processes and ballast. The influence of the following factors can be estimated: volume, structure, and quality of the spectra collection stored, efficiency of the encoding instruction and the comparing algorithm, and subjective errors involved in the encoding of spectra. The relations derived are applied to two published storage and retrieval systems for infared spectra. (Auth.)

  13. Collective management societies against free economic competition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felipe Abello Monsalvo

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The collective management of copyright is presented as a mechanism for the administration of the collection for the use of the patrimonial rights of copyright holders. The Collective Management Companies (SGC act as the appointed representative of the holders of the mentioned rights. The management of copyright through the SGC generates certain efficiencies and, in some cases, it is indispensable. Nonetheless, benchmarking for each case may identify the existence of dominance position of the sgc. It is necessary to propose minimum guidelines so that the SGC in the execution of its management do not incur in anti-competitive practices.

  14. A Practical Method for Collecting Social Media Campaign Metrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gharis, Laurie W.; Hightower, Mary F.

    2017-01-01

    Today's Extension professionals are tasked with more work and fewer resources. Integrating social media campaigns into outreach efforts can be an efficient way to meet work demands. If resources go toward social media, a practical method for collecting metrics is needed. Collecting metrics adds one more task to the workloads of Extension…

  15. Models for wind turbines - a collection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2002-01-01

    This report is a collection of notes which were intended to be short communications. Main target of the work presented is to supply new approaches to stability investigations of wind turbines. The author's opinion is that an efficient, systematicstability analysis can not be performed for large...

  16. Energy Efficiency Center - Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obryk, E.

    2000-01-01

    Full text: The Energy Efficiency Center (EEC) activities have been concentrated on Energy Efficiency Network (SEGE), education and training of energy auditors. EEC has started studies related to renewable fuels (bio fuel, wastes) and other topics related to environment protection. EEC has continued close collaboration with Institute for Energy Technology, Kjeller, Norway. It has been organized and conducted Seminar and Workshop on ''How to Reduce Energy and Water Cost in Higher Education Buildings'' for general and technical managers of the higher education institutions. This Seminar was proceeded by the working meeting on energy efficiency strategy in higher education at the Ministry of National Education. EEC has worked out proposal for activities of Cracow Regional Agency for Energy Efficiency and Environment and has made offer to provide services for this Agency in the field of training, education and consulting. The vast knowledge and experiences in the field of energy audits have been used by the members of EEC in lecturing at energy auditors courses authorized by the National Energy Efficiency Agency (KAPE). Altogether 20 lectures have been delivered. (author)

  17. 76 FR 9024 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Electronic...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-16

    ...] Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Electronic Records; Electronic Signatures AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug... relating to FDA's electronic records and electronic signatures. DATES: Submit either electronic or written...

  18. Probing photo-carrier collection efficiencies of individual silicon nanowire diodes on a wafer substrate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitt, S W; Brönstrup, G; Shalev, G; Srivastava, S K; Bashouti, M Y; Döhler, G H; Christiansen, S H

    2014-07-21

    Vertically aligned silicon nanowire (SiNW) diodes are promising candidates for the integration into various opto-electronic device concepts for e.g. sensing or solar energy conversion. Individual SiNW p-n diodes have intensively been studied, but to date an assessment of their device performance once integrated on a silicon substrate has not been made. We show that using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with a nano-manipulator and an optical fiber feed-through for tunable (wavelength, power using a tunable laser source) sample illumination, the dark and illuminated current-voltage (I-V) curve of individual SiNW diodes on the substrate wafer can be measured. Surprisingly, the I-V-curve of the serially coupled system composed of SiNW/wafers is accurately described by an equivalent circuit model of a single diode and diode parameters like series and shunting resistivity, diode ideality factor and photocurrent can be retrieved from a fit. We show that the photo-carrier collection efficiency (PCE) of the integrated diode illuminated with variable wavelength and intensity light directly gives insight into the quality of the device design at the nanoscale. We find that the PCE decreases for high light intensities and photocurrent densities, due to the fact that considerable amounts of photo-excited carriers generated within the substrate lead to a decrease in shunting resistivity of the SiNW diode and deteriorate its rectification. The PCE decreases systematically for smaller wavelengths of visible light, showing the possibility of monitoring the effectiveness of the SiNW device surface passivation using the shown measurement technique. The integrated device was pre-characterized using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), TCAD simulations and electron beam induced current (EBIC) measurements to validate the properties of the characterized material at the single SiNW diode level.

  19. 76 FR 54776 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-02

    ... Quality Indicators Related to Patient Care. Form Number: CMS-10390 (OMB 0938-New); Frequency: Occasionally... paperwork collections referenced above, access CMS' Web Site address at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Paperwork... burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4...

  20. Learning to Play Efficient Coarse Correlated Equilibria

    KAUST Repository

    Borowski, Holly P.; Marden, Jason R.; Shamma, Jeff S.

    2018-01-01

    The majority of the distributed learning literature focuses on convergence to Nash equilibria. Coarse correlated equilibria, on the other hand, can often characterize more efficient collective behavior than even the best Nash equilibrium. However

  1. Curating Virtual Data Collections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynnes, Chris; Leon, Amanda; Ramapriyan, Hampapuram; Tsontos, Vardis; Shie, Chung-Lin; Liu, Zhong

    2015-01-01

    NASAs Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) contains a rich set of datasets and related services throughout its many elements. As a result, locating all the EOSDIS data and related resources relevant to particular science theme can be daunting. This is largely because EOSDIS data's organizing principle is affected more by the way they are produced than around the expected end use. Virtual collections oriented around science themes can overcome this by presenting collections of data and related resources that are organized around the user's interest, not around the way the data were produced. Virtual collections consist of annotated web addresses (URLs) that point to data and related resource addresses, thus avoiding the need to copy all of the relevant data to a single place. These URL addresses can be consumed by a variety of clients, ranging from basic URL downloaders (wget, curl) and web browsers to sophisticated data analysis programs such as the Integrated Data Viewer.

  2. Emissions from US waste collection vehicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maimoun, Mousa A.; Reinhart, Debra R.; Gammoh, Fatina T.; McCauley Bush, Pamela

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Life-cycle emissions for alternative fuel technologies. ► Fuel consumption of alternative fuels for waste collection vehicles. ► Actual driving cycle of waste collection vehicles. ► Diesel-fueled waste collection vehicle emissions. - Abstract: This research is an in-depth environmental analysis of potential alternative fuel technologies for waste collection vehicles. Life-cycle emissions, cost, fuel and energy consumption were evaluated for a wide range of fossil and bio-fuel technologies. Emission factors were calculated for a typical waste collection driving cycle as well as constant speed. In brief, natural gas waste collection vehicles (compressed and liquid) fueled with North-American natural gas had 6–10% higher well-to-wheel (WTW) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to diesel-fueled vehicles; however the pump-to-wheel (PTW) GHG emissions of natural gas waste collection vehicles averaged 6% less than diesel-fueled vehicles. Landfill gas had about 80% lower WTW GHG emissions relative to diesel. Biodiesel waste collection vehicles had between 12% and 75% lower WTW GHG emissions relative to diesel depending on the fuel source and the blend. In 2011, natural gas waste collection vehicles had the lowest fuel cost per collection vehicle kilometer travel. Finally, the actual driving cycle of waste collection vehicles consists of repetitive stops and starts during waste collection; this generates more emissions than constant speed driving

  3. Reflections on collectivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feshbach, H.

    1983-01-01

    Comments are made on papers presented to the International School of Nuclear Physics, Erice (1982) concerning collective bands and collectivity in nuclei. The importance of these collective modes of motion, the role of the Bohr-Mottelson model and the Interacting Boson Models (IBM-1 and IBM-2), and experimental evidence presented by a number of workers, are examined. The extensions of the models to take into account additional degrees of freedom both collective and non-collective, the discovery of new collective modes such as those corresponding to tri-axial shapes, and the possible existence of additional symmetries reported at the meeting, are discussed. Finally the importance is examined of relating the phenomenological models to a more fundamental underlying theory, which has been taken to be the nuclear shell model. (U.K.)

  4. Tuning the relative concentration ratio of bulk defects to surface defects in TiO2 nanocrystals leads to high photocatalytic efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Ming; Li, Yuanzhi; Chen, Xiong; Tian, Tingting; Fang, Pengfei; Zheng, Feng; Zhao, Xiujian

    2011-10-19

    TiO(2) nanocrystals with tunable bulk/surface defects were synthesized and characterized with TEM, XRD, BET, positron annihilation, and photocurrent measurements. The effect of defects on photocatalytic activity was studied. It was found for the first time that decreasing the relative concentration ratio of bulk defects to surface defects in TiO(2) nanocrystals could significantly improve the separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes, thus significantly enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency.

  5. Phenomenological theory of collective decision-making

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zafeiris, Anna; Koman, Zsombor; Mones, Enys

    2017-01-01

    An essential task of groups is to provide efficient solutions for the complex problems they face. Indeed, considerable efforts have been devoted to the question of collective decision-making related to problems involving a single dominant feature. Here we introduce a quantitative formalism...... for finding the optimal distribution of the group members’ competences in the more typical case when the underlying problem is complex, i.e., multidimensional. Thus, we consider teams that are aiming at obtaining the best possible answer to a problem having a number of independent sub-problems. Our approach...... is based on a generic scheme for the process of evaluating the proposed solutions (i.e., negotiation). We demonstrate that the best performing groups have at least one specialist for each sub-problem — but a far less intuitive result is that finding the optimal solution by the interacting group members...

  6. Combustion and Gasification Collection of Diesel Soot by Means of Microwave Heating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xueshi YAO

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The experiment of integrated purification of diesel soot was made by means of microwave heating. The experiment includes combustion and gasification collection. The catalytic effect of ceramic carrier was used in the combustion process. In order to improve the purification efficiency of PM2.5 particles, the surfactants were used in gasification collection. The model of computer control was set up so that the purification course could be controlled. The experimental principle was analyzed. Experiment result indicated that the diesel soot purifying efficiency is more than 90 %. The purification efficiency can be improved further by the optimization design of experimental device.

  7. An Application of Graphics Processing Units to Geosimulation of Collective Crowd Behaviour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cjoskāns Jānis

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The goal of the paper is to assess the ways for computational performance and efficiency improvement of collective crowd behaviour simulation by using parallel computing methods implemented on graphics processing unit (GPU. To perform an experimental evaluation of benefits of parallel computing, a new GPU-based simulator prototype is proposed and the runtime performance is analysed. Based on practical examples of pedestrian dynamics geosimulation, the obtained performance measurements are compared to several other available multiagent simulation tools to determine the efficiency of the proposed simulator, as well as to provide generic guidelines for the efficiency improvements of the parallel simulation of collective crowd behaviour.

  8. Sensory Gain Outperforms Efficient Readout Mechanisms in Predicting Attention-Related Improvements in Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ester, Edward F.; Deering, Sean

    2014-01-01

    Spatial attention has been postulated to facilitate perceptual processing via several different mechanisms. For instance, attention can amplify neural responses in sensory areas (sensory gain), mediate neural variability (noise modulation), or alter the manner in which sensory signals are selectively read out by postsensory decision mechanisms (efficient readout). Even in the context of simple behavioral tasks, it is unclear how well each of these mechanisms can account for the relationship between attention-modulated changes in behavior and neural activity because few studies have systematically mapped changes between stimulus intensity, attentional focus, neural activity, and behavioral performance. Here, we used a combination of psychophysics, event-related potentials (ERPs), and quantitative modeling to explicitly link attention-related changes in perceptual sensitivity with changes in the ERP amplitudes recorded from human observers. Spatial attention led to a multiplicative increase in the amplitude of an early sensory ERP component (the P1, peaking ∼80–130 ms poststimulus) and in the amplitude of the late positive deflection component (peaking ∼230–330 ms poststimulus). A simple model based on signal detection theory demonstrates that these multiplicative gain changes were sufficient to account for attention-related improvements in perceptual sensitivity, without a need to invoke noise modulation. Moreover, combining the observed multiplicative gain with a postsensory readout mechanism resulted in a significantly poorer description of the observed behavioral data. We conclude that, at least in the context of relatively simple visual discrimination tasks, spatial attention modulates perceptual sensitivity primarily by modulating the gain of neural responses during early sensory processing PMID:25274817

  9. Assessment of accountability and safeguards efficiencies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCormick, N.J.; Erdmann, R.C.

    1975-01-01

    Accountability and safeguards problems fall into the class of problems of searches for an anomaly, which in this case happens to be either an undesired amount of special nuclear material (SNM) in a specimen or the person or parcel which possesses SNM which is being removed surreptitiously. In such searches, principles from information theory can be used to relate the relative efficiency of the search itself to the relative efficiency of the detector. Such correlations are examined and provide some insight into the improvement of the search potentially available from an altered detector efficiency. Example calculations are presented

  10. Fluid collection after partial pancreatectomy: EUS drainage and long-term follow-up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caillol, Fabrice; Godat, Sebastien; Turrini, Olivier; Zemmour, Christophe; Bories, Erwan; Pesenti, Christian; Ratone, Jean Phillippe; Ewald, Jacques; Delpero, Jean Robert; Giovannini, Marc

    2018-03-29

    Postoperative fluid collection due to pancreatic leak is the most frequent complication after pancreatic surgery. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided drainage of post-pancreatic surgery fluid collection is the gold standard procedure; however, data on outcomes of this procedure are limited. The primary endpoint of our study was relapse over longterm followup, and the secondary endpoint was the efficiency and safety of EUS-guided drainage of post-pancreatic surgery fluid collection. This retrospective study was conducted at a single center from December 2008 to April 2016. Global morbidity was defined as the occurrence of an event involving additional endoscopic procedures, hospitalization, or interventional radiologic or surgical procedures. EUS-guided drainage was considered a clinical failure if surgery was required to treat a relapse after stent removal. Fortyone patients were included. The technical success rate was 100%. Drainage was considered a clinical success in 93% (39/41) of cases. Additionally, 19 (46%) complications were identified as global morbidity. The duration between surgery and EUS-guided drainage was not a significantly related factor for morbidity rate (P = 0.8); however, bleeding due to arterial injuries (splenic artery and gastroduodenal artery) from salvage drainage procedures occurred within 25 days following the initial surgery. There was no difference in survival between patients with and without complications. No relapse was reported during the followup (median: 44.75 months; range: 29.24 to 65.74 months). EUSguided drainage for post-pancreatic surgery fluid collection was efficient with no relapse during longterm followup. Morbidity rate was independent of the duration between the initial surgery and EUS-guided drainage; however, bleeding risk was likely more important in cases of early drainage.

  11. Drawing skill is related to the efficiency of encoding object structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perdreau, Florian; Cavanagh, Patrick

    2014-01-01

    Accurate drawing calls on many skills beyond simple motor coordination. A good internal representation of the target object's structure is necessary to capture its proportion and shape in the drawing. Here, we assess two aspects of the perception of object structure and relate them to participants' drawing accuracy. First, we assessed drawing accuracy by computing the geometrical dissimilarity of their drawing to the target object. We then used two tasks to evaluate the efficiency of encoding object structure. First, to examine the rate of temporal encoding, we varied presentation duration of a possible versus impossible test object in the fovea using two different test sizes (8° and 28°). More skilled participants were faster at encoding an object's structure, but this difference was not affected by image size. A control experiment showed that participants skilled in drawing did not have a general advantage that might have explained their faster processing for object structure. Second, to measure the critical image size for accurate classification in the periphery, we varied image size with possible versus impossible object tests centered at two different eccentricities (3° and 8°). More skilled participants were able to categorise object structure at smaller sizes, and this advantage did not change with eccentricity. A control experiment showed that the result could not be attributed to differences in visual acuity, leaving attentional resolution as a possible explanation. Overall, we conclude that drawing accuracy is related to faster encoding of object structure and better access to crowded details.

  12. Fuel efficiency of conventional design tractors diesel engines in relation to new design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jevtić Jeremija

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Total consumption of all types of energies is rather high nowadays with constant tendency of increasing. Transport section is one of the highest consumers of energy obtained from fossil fuels. It is absolutely clear that the reduction of energy consumption and the protection of environment - exhaust emission reduction, i. e. cleaner air, will be one of the main tasks of automotive industry in the first decades of the 21st century. In spite of its superiority over the petrol engine in respect of the fuel consumption, a diesel engine "suffers" from the increased exhaust emission, particles and NOx first of all and also from the noise and vibrations. The paper gives a review of fuel efficiency of conventional design tractors diesel engines in relation to new design. .

  13. Direct determination of quantum efficiency of semiconducting films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faughnan, B.W.; Hanak, J.J.

    Photovoltaic quantum efficiency of semiconductor samples is determined directly, without requiring that a built-in photovoltage be generated by the sample. Electrodes are attached to the sample so as to form at least one Schottky barrier therewith. When illuminated, the generated photocurrent carriers are collected by an external bias voltage impressed across the electrodes. The generated photocurrent is measured, and photovoltaic quantum efficiency is calculated therefrom.

  14. 78 FR 77203 - Agency Requests for Renewal of a Previously Approved Information Collection(s): War Risk...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-20

    ... Previously Approved Information Collection(s): War Risk Insurance, Applications and Related Information... determine the eligibility of the applicant and the vessel(s) for participation in the war risk insurance... Control Number: 2133-0011. Title: War Risk Insurance, Applications and Related Information. Form Numbers...

  15. Unlocking the potential for efficiency and demand response throughadvanced metering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levy, Roger; Herter, Karen; Wilson, John

    2004-06-30

    Reliance on the standard cumulative kilowatt-hour meter substantially compromises energy efficiency and demand response programs. Without advanced metering, utilities cannot support time-differentiated rates or collect the detailed customer usage information necessary to (1)educate the customer to the economic value of efficiency and demand response options, or (2) distribute load management incentives proportional to customer contribution. These deficiencies prevent the customer feedback mechanisms that would otherwise encourage economically sound demand-side investments and behaviors. Thus, the inability to collect or properly price electricity usage handicaps the success of almost all efficiency and demand response options. Historically, implementation of the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) necessary for the successful efficiency and demand response programs has been prevented by inadequate cost-benefit analyses. A recent California effort has produced an expanded cost-effectiveness methodology for AMI that introduces previously excluded benefits. In addition to utility-centric costs and benefits, the new model includes qualitative and quantitative costs and benefits that accrue to both customers and society.

  16. Efficiency bounds for nonequilibrium heat engines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehta, Pankaj; Polkovnikov, Anatoli

    2013-01-01

    We analyze the efficiency of thermal engines (either quantum or classical) working with a single heat reservoir like an atmosphere. The engine first gets an energy intake, which can be done in an arbitrary nonequilibrium way e.g. combustion of fuel. Then the engine performs the work and returns to the initial state. We distinguish two general classes of engines where the working body first equilibrates within itself and then performs the work (ergodic engine) or when it performs the work before equilibrating (non-ergodic engine). We show that in both cases the second law of thermodynamics limits their efficiency. For ergodic engines we find a rigorous upper bound for the efficiency, which is strictly smaller than the equivalent Carnot efficiency. I.e. the Carnot efficiency can be never achieved in single reservoir heat engines. For non-ergodic engines the efficiency can be higher and can exceed the equilibrium Carnot bound. By extending the fundamental thermodynamic relation to nonequilibrium processes, we find a rigorous thermodynamic bound for the efficiency of both ergodic and non-ergodic engines and show that it is given by the relative entropy of the nonequilibrium and initial equilibrium distributions. These results suggest a new general strategy for designing more efficient engines. We illustrate our ideas by using simple examples. -- Highlights: ► Derived efficiency bounds for heat engines working with a single reservoir. ► Analyzed both ergodic and non-ergodic engines. ► Showed that non-ergodic engines can be more efficient. ► Extended fundamental thermodynamic relation to arbitrary nonequilibrium processes

  17. Common cause failure data collection and analysis for safety-related components of TRIGA SSR-14MW Pitesti, Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Radu, G.; Mladin, D.

    2003-01-01

    This paper presents a study performed on the set of common cause failures (CCF) of safety-related components of the research reactor TRIGA SSR-14 MW Pitesti. The data collected cover a period of 20 years, from 1979 to 2000. The sources of data are Shift Supervisor Reports, Work Authorizations, and Reactor Log Books. Events collected are analyzed by failure mode and degrees of failure. Qualitative analysis of root causes, coupling factors and corrective actions and quantitative analysis of CCF events are studied. The objective of this work is to develop qualitative insights in the nature of the reported events and to build a site-specific common cause events database. (author)

  18. New futures for old collections

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gabriel, Mille

    2016-01-01

    In recognition of altered global relations since colonial times, the Ethnographic Collections at the National Museum of Denmark have identified a need to redefine their role in society. The Ethnographic Collections explore new ways of activating old collections – ways, which include contemporary...... collecting, co-curation and dialogue with the communities from where the collections derive. Through three recent projects, this paper revolves around questions such as: How can we make associations between the old collections and contemporary society? How do we prioritize, when collecting the contemporary...

  19. Investigating the Neural Bases for Intra-Subject Cognitive Efficiency Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neena K. Rao

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Several fMRI studies have examined brain regions mediating inter-subject variability in cognitive efficiency, but none have examined regions mediating intra-subject variability in efficiency. Thus, the present study was designed to identify brain regions involved in intra-subject variability in cognitive efficiency via participant-level correlations between trial-level reaction time (RT and trial-level fMRI BOLD percent signal change on a processing speed task. On each trial, participants indicated whether a digit-symbol probe-pair was present or absent in an array of nine digit-symbol probe-pairs while fMRI data were collected. Deconvolution analyses, using RT time-series models (derived from the proportional scaling of an event-related hemodynamic response function model by trial-level RT, were used to evaluate relationships between trial-level RTs and BOLD percent signal change. Although task-related patterns of activation and deactivation were observed in regions including bilateral occipital, bilateral parietal, portions of the medial wall such as the precuneus, default mode network regions including anterior cingulate, posterior cingulate, bilateral temporal, right cerebellum, and right cuneus, RT-BOLD correlations were observed in a more circumscribed set of regions. Positive RT-related patterns, or RT-BOLD correlations where fast RTs were associated with lower BOLD percent signal change, were observed in regions including bilateral occipital, bilateral parietal, and the precuneus. RT-BOLD correlations were not observed in the default mode network indicating a smaller set of regions associated with intra-subject variability in cognitive efficiency. The results are discussed in terms of a distributed area of regions that mediate variability in the cognitive efficiency that might underlie processing speed differences between individuals.

  20. Source Segregation and Collection of Source-Segregated Waste

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Thomas Højlund; Matsufuji, Y.

    2011-01-01

    of optimal handling of the waste. But in a few cases, the waste must also be separated at source, for example removing the protective plastic cover from a commercial advertisement received by mail, prior to putting the advertisement into the waste collection bin for recyclable paper. These issues are often...... in wastes segregation addressing: - Purpose of source segregation. - Segregation criteria and guidance. - Segregation potentials and efficiencies. - Systems for collecting segregated fraction....

  1. Bandwidth Efficient Hybrid Synchronization for Wireless Sensor Network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dnyaneshwar, Mantri; Prasad, Neeli R.; Prasad, Ramjee

    2015-01-01

    Data collection and transmission are the fundamental operations of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). A key challenge in effective data collection and transmission is to schedule and synchronize the activities of the nodes with the global clock. This paper proposes the Bandwidth Efficient Hybrid...... in the network and then perform the pair-wise synchronization. With the mobility of node, the structure frequently changes causing an increase in energy consumption. To mitigate the problem BESDA aggregate data with the notion of a global timescale throughout the network and schedule based time-division multiple...... accesses (TDMA) techniques as MAC layer protocol. It reduces the collision of packets. Simulation results show that BESDA is energy efficient, with increased throughput, and has less delay as compared with state-of-the-art....

  2. Toward Highly Efficient Nanostructured Solar Cells Using Concurrent Electrical and Optical Design

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Hsin-Ping; He, Jr-Hau

    2017-01-01

    potential to push the theoretical limits of solar cell efficiency even higher using the intrinsic advantages associated with these materials, including efficient photon management, rapid charge transfer, and short charge collection distances. However

  3. Exploring Collective Mathematical Creativity in Elementary School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levenson, Esther

    2011-01-01

    This study combines theories related to collective learning and theories related to mathematical creativity to investigate the notion of collective mathematical creativity in elementary school classrooms. Collective learning takes place when mathematical ideas and actions, initially stemming from an individual, are built upon and reworked,…

  4. Solution-processed core-shell nanowires for efficient photovoltaic cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Jinyao; Huo, Ziyang; Brittman, Sarah; Gao, Hanwei; Yang, Peidong

    2011-08-21

    Semiconductor nanowires are promising for photovoltaic applications, but, so far, nanowire-based solar cells have had lower efficiencies than planar cells made from the same materials, even allowing for the generally lower light absorption of nanowires. It is not clear, therefore, if the benefits of the nanowire structure, including better charge collection and transport and the possibility of enhanced absorption through light trapping, can outweigh the reductions in performance caused by recombination at the surface of the nanowires and at p-n junctions. Here, we fabricate core-shell nanowire solar cells with open-circuit voltage and fill factor values superior to those reported for equivalent planar cells, and an energy conversion efficiency of ∼5.4%, which is comparable to that of equivalent planar cells despite low light absorption levels. The device is made using a low-temperature solution-based cation exchange reaction that creates a heteroepitaxial junction between a single-crystalline CdS core and single-crystalline Cu2S shell. We integrate multiple cells on single nanowires in both series and parallel configurations for high output voltages and currents, respectively. The ability to produce efficient nanowire-based solar cells with a solution-based process and Earth-abundant elements could significantly reduce fabrication costs relative to existing high-temperature bulk material approaches.

  5. Collective acceleration of ions on the basis of resonance surface photoionization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Antsiferov, V.V.; Smirnov, G.I.; Telegin, G.G.

    1994-01-01

    The effects of ion beam shaping and collective acceleration on the basis of resonance surface ionization are discussed. The principle diagram of the device for collective acceleration of positive ions is given. The method suggested for positive ion acceleration provides the efficiency increase, the design simplification, the size decrease and the increase in the frequency of the collective laser ion accelerator pulses

  6. Efficiency of the collection of aerosol detectors used in EDF nuclear power stations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fauvel, S.; Gensdarmes, F.; Valendru, N.

    2009-01-01

    The authors report an investigation performed to asses the efficiency of different radioactive aerosol detectors by comparing the mass concentration sampled by the tested detectors with the reference mass concentration. The authors describe the measurement installation and protocol, and discuss the results obtained for different grain sizes and different renewal rates

  7. Evaluation of a Disposable-Diaper Collection Trial in Korea through Comparison with an Absorbent-Hygiene-Product Collection Trial in Scotland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kyung-Shin Kim

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This study was designed to analyze the feasibility of economic aspects assuming that the policy of diaper recycling is necessary. With respect to economic feasibility, the collection and transportation of the diaper waste, which accounts for much of the cost, need to be optimized. Starting with the results of a collection trial in Scotland (2012, the method used in a collection trial in Korea (2014 was analyzed to identify problems incurring additional costs. This paper targeted daycare centers in Nowon-Gu, Seoul—because of the quantity of waste diapers they produce and the efficiency of collection—to identify the problems and to predict the cost of collection. This study evaluated multiple scenarios in light of their collection costs, discovering factors that could improve the system and reduce the cost and created the most economically feasible and optimized collection model. This paper will serve as empirical evidence proving the economics of diaper collection when the regulation is revised or amended in the future.

  8. Biomimetic Water-Collecting Fabric with Light-Induced Superhydrophilic Bumps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yuanfeng; Wang, Xiaowen; Lai, Chuilin; Hu, Huawen; Kong, Yeeyee; Fei, Bin; Xin, John H

    2016-02-10

    To develop an efficient water-collecting surface that integrates both fast water-capturing and easy drainage properties is of high current interest for addressing global water issues. In this work, a superhydrophobic surface was fabricated on cotton fabric via manipulation of both the surface roughness and surface energy. This was followed by a subsequent spray coating of TiO2 nanosol that created light-induced superhydrophilic bumps with a unique raised structure as a result of the interfacial tension of the TiO2 nanosol sprayed on the superhydrophobic fiber surface. These raised TiO2 bumps induce both a wettability gradient and a shape gradient, synergistically accelerating water coalescence and water collection. The in-depth study revealed that the quantity and the distribution of the TiO2 had a significant impact on the final water collection efficiency. This inexpensive and facilely fabricated fabric biomimicks the desert beetle's back and spider silk, which are capable of fog harvesting without additional energy consumption.

  9. Obsolescence of fees of collective society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radovanović Sanja

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The subject of analysis in this paper is the issue of obsolescence of fees of organizations for collective management of copyright and related rights. Namely, in the system of copyright and related rights, the possibility of collective management is one aspect of the exercise of rights. This collectivity stems from the fact that the exploitation of the subject of protection of copyright and related rights in modern society has reached level that exceed the capabilities of the author, or title holder of related rights as individuals to exercise their rights independently. Therefore, authorized organization for collective management, has a role to collect fees. Since it is an obligation between the user and the organization, the question that arose in practice, and we believe that has not received a satisfactory answer, is the question of obsolescence of claims within these entities. In the absence of express statutory regulations, the answer must be sought in analog application of the corresponding provisions of the Law on Obligations, which this paper is devoted special attention.

  10. The Economic Value of Corporate Eco-Efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guenster, N.; Derwall, J.; Bauer, R.; Koedijk, K.

    2006-08-01

    This study adds new insights to the long-running corporate environmental-financial performance debate by focusing on the concept of eco-efficiency. Using a new database of eco-efficiency ratings, we analyze the relation between eco-efficiency and financial performance from 1997 to 2004. We report that eco-efficiency relates positively to operating performance and market value. Moreover, our results suggest that the market's valuation of environmental performance has been time variant, which may indicate that the market incorporates environmental information with a drift. Although environmental leaders initially did not sell at a premium relative to laggards, the valuation differential increased significantly over time. Our results have implications for company managers, who evidently do not have to overcome a tradeoff between eco-efficiency and financial performance, and for investors, who can exploit environmental information for investment decisions

  11. Planning Considerations Related to Collecting and Analyzing Samples of the Martian Soils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yang; Mellon, Mike T.; Ming, Douglas W.; Morris, Richard V.; Noble, Sarah K.; Sullivan, Robert J.; Taylor, Lawrence A.; Beaty, David W.

    2014-01-01

    The Mars Sample Return (MSR) End-to-End International Science Analysis Group (E2E-iSAG [1]) established scientific objectives associ-ated with Mars returned-sample science that require the return and investigation of one or more soil samples. Soil is defined here as loose, unconsolidated materials with no implication for the presence or absence of or-ganic components. The proposed Mars 2020 (M-2020) rover is likely to collect and cache soil in addition to rock samples [2], which could be followed by future sample retrieval and return missions. Here we discuss key scientific consid-erations for sampling and caching soil samples on the proposed M-2020 rover, as well as the state in which samples would need to be preserved when received by analysts on Earth. We are seeking feedback on these draft plans as input to mission requirement formulation. A related planning exercise on rocks is reported in an accompanying abstract [3].

  12. Efficient approximations of dispersion relations in optical waveguides with varying refractive-index profiles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yutian; Zhu, Jianxin

    2015-05-04

    In this paper we consider the problem of computing the eigen-modes for the varying refractive-index profile in an open waveguide. We first approximate the refractive-index by a piecewise polynomial of degree two, and the corresponding Sturm-Liouville problem (eigenvalue problem) of the Helmholtz operator in each layer can be solved analytically by the Kummer functions. Then, analytical approximate dispersion equations are established for both TE and TM cases. Furthermore, the approximate dispersion equations converge fast to the exact ones for the continuous refractive-index function as the maximum value of the subinterval sizes tends to zero. Suitable numerical methods, such as Müller's method or the chord secant method, may be applied to the dispersion relations to compute the eigenmodes. Numerical simulations show that our method is very practical and efficient for computing eigenmodes.

  13. Energy efficiency indicators of Italy (1970-1992)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    D` Angelo, E; Perrella, G [ENEA, Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Rome (Italy). Dip. Energia; Bianco, R

    1996-02-01

    This report is aimed at presenting the results of the energy efficiency evolution in Italy for the 1970-1992 period Results come from the data-base developed under the SAVE/EnR project on `Cross countries comparison on energy efficiency indicators`. In order to be comparable among countries, efforts have been made to harmonize the data collection as well as the definition and the calculation of energy efficiency indicators. Selected indicators are considered in order to illustrate the potentiality of the project (around 200 different energy efficiency indicators can be calculated and presented). Emphasis is put on the interpretation of the so-called `techno-economic indicators` as well as explanatory indicators both for the economic and techno-economic approaches. Industry, transport, tertiary, residential and transformation sectors have been analyzed.

  14. Research ethics committee decision-making in relation to an efficient neonatal trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gale, C; Hyde, M J; Modi, N

    2017-07-01

    Randomised controlled trials, a gold-standard approach to reduce uncertainties in clinical practice, are growing in cost and are often slow to recruit. We determined whether methodological approaches to facilitate large, efficient clinical trials were acceptable to UK research ethics committees (RECs). We developed a protocol in collaboration with parents, for a comparative-effectiveness, randomised controlled trial comparing two widely used blood transfusion practices in preterm infants. We incorporated four approaches to improve recruitment and efficiency: (i) point-of-care design using electronic patient records for patient identification, randomisation and data acquisition, (ii) short two-page information sheet; (iii) explicit mention of possible inclusion benefit; (iv) opt-out consent with enrolment as the default. With the support of the UK Health Research Authority, we submitted an identical protocol to 12 UK REC. RECs in the UK. Number of REC granting favourable opinions. The use of electronic patient records was acceptable to all RECs; one REC raised concerns about the short parent information sheet, 10 about inclusion benefit and 9 about opt-out consent. Following responses to queries, nine RECs granted a favourable final opinion and three rejected the application because they considered the opt-out consent process invalid. A majority of RECs in this study consider the use of electronic patient record data, short information sheets, opt-out consent and mention of possible inclusion benefit to be acceptable in neonatal comparative-effectiveness research. We identified a need for guidance for RECs in relation to opt-out consent processes. These methods provide opportunity to facilitate large randomised controlled trials. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  15. Relation between efficiency and energy cost with coordination in aquatic locomotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Figueiredo, Pedro; Toussaint, Huub M; Vilas-Boas, João Paulo; Fernandes, Ricardo J

    2013-03-01

    The aim of this study was to establish the relationships between the intracycle velocity variation (IVV) and Froude efficiency (η(T)), energy cost (C), and index of coordination (IdC) throughout a 200-m freestyle race. Ten male international level swimmers performed a maximum 200 m front crawl swim. Performance was recorded with four below- and two above-water synchronized cameras. Oxygen consumption was measured continuously during the effort, and blood samples were collected before and after the test. IdC, body center of mass' IVV (x, y and z), and η(T) were also calculated. For assessing C swimmers performed also 50, 100 and 150 m at the same pace as in the 200-m splits to capture blood lactate samples after each 50-m lap of the 200-m effort. Swimmers attained a stable IVV (x, y, and z), as fatigue development along the 200-m effort induced a decrease in velocity, stroke length, stroke frequency, η(T), and an increase of IdC. Direct relationships between C and IdC for the second and fourth lap were found: R = 0.63 and R = 0.69 (P < 0.05), respectively. Computing partial correlation, also IdC and η(T) in the first lap were significantly correlated (R = -0.63, P < 0.05). IdC and η(T) showed to be significant for the within-subjects correlation (R = -0.45, P = 0.01), and IdC and C for the between-subjects correlation (R = 0.66, P = 0.04). Patterns of coordination modified during the 200-m event in response to the task constraints, observed by the changes in the other studied parameters, and allowing the IVV stability along the effort.

  16. Changes in collection efficiency in nylon net filter media through magnetic alignment of elongated aerosol particles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, Christopher O; Finlay, W H

    2009-10-01

    Fiber aerosols tend to align parallel to surrounding fluid streamlines in shear flows, making their filtration more difficult. However, previous research indicates that composite particles made from cromoglycic acid fibers coated with small nanoscaled magnetite particles can align with an applied magnetic field. The present research explored the effect of magnetically aligning these fibers to increase their filtration. Nylon net filters were challenged with the aerosol fibers, and efficiency tests were performed with and without a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the flow direction. We investigated the effects of varying face velocities, the amount of magnetite material on the aerosol particles, and magnetic field strengths. Findings from the experiments, matched by supporting single-fiber theories, showed significant efficiency increases at the low face velocity of 1.5 cm s(-1) at all magnetite compositions, with efficiencies more than doubling due to magnetic field alignment in certain cases. At a higher face velocity of 5.12 cm s(-1), filtration efficiencies were less affected by the magnetic field alignment being, at most, 43% higher for magnetite weight compositions up to 30%, while at a face velocity of 10.23 cm s(-1) alignment effects were insignificant. In most cases, efficiencies became independent of magnetic field strength above 50 mT, suggesting full alignment of the fibers. The present data suggest that fiber alignment in a magnetic field may warrant applications in the filtration and detection of fibers, such as asbestos.

  17. Compound Synthesis or Growth and Development of Roots/Stomata Regulate Plant Drought Tolerance or Water Use Efficiency/Water Uptake Efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Lai-Sheng

    2018-04-11

    Water is crucial to plant growth and development because it serves as a medium for all cellular functions. Thus, the improvement of plant drought tolerance or water use efficiency/water uptake efficiency is important in modern agriculture. In this review, we mainly focus on new genetic factors for ameliorating drought tolerance or water use efficiency/water uptake efficiency of plants and explore the involvement of these genetic factors in the regulation of improving plant drought tolerance or water use efficiency/water uptake efficiency, which is a result of altered stomata density and improving root systems (primary root length, hair root growth, and lateral root number) and enhanced production of osmotic protectants, which is caused by transcription factors, proteinases, and phosphatases and protein kinases. These results will help guide the synthesis of a model for predicting how the signals of genetic and environmental stress are integrated at a few genetic determinants to control the establishment of either water use efficiency or water uptake efficiency. Collectively, these insights into the molecular mechanism underpinning the control of plant drought tolerance or water use efficiency/water uptake efficiency may aid future breeding or design strategies to increase crop yield.

  18. Can ex situ plant collections differ in effectiveness, even 1 between closely related species?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conservation of imperiled plant species often requires ex situ (offsite) living collections. Protocols for developing these collections most often emphasize sampling depth, but little is known about the genetics of such collections. This study compares how well a single collecting protocol can captu...

  19. An Efficient Method to Create Digital Terrain Models from Point Clouds Collected by Mobile LiDAR Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gézero, L.; Antunes, C.

    2017-05-01

    The digital terrain models (DTM) assume an essential role in all types of road maintenance, water supply and sanitation projects. The demand of such information is more significant in developing countries, where the lack of infrastructures is higher. In recent years, the use of Mobile LiDAR Systems (MLS) proved to be a very efficient technique in the acquisition of precise and dense point clouds. These point clouds can be a solution to obtain the data for the production of DTM in remote areas, due mainly to the safety, precision, speed of acquisition and the detail of the information gathered. However, the point clouds filtering and algorithms to separate "terrain points" from "no terrain points", quickly and consistently, remain a challenge that has caught the interest of researchers. This work presents a method to create the DTM from point clouds collected by MLS. The method is based in two interactive steps. The first step of the process allows reducing the cloud point to a set of points that represent the terrain's shape, being the distance between points inversely proportional to the terrain variation. The second step is based on the Delaunay triangulation of the points resulting from the first step. The achieved results encourage a wider use of this technology as a solution for large scale DTM production in remote areas.

  20. Study of flow profile distortions and efficiency in counter pressure moderated partial filling micellar electrokinetic chromatography in relation to the relative buffer zone lengths.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michalke, Daniela; Welsch, Thomas

    2002-06-25

    The influence of the relative buffer zone lengths on the efficiency was investigated in partial filling micellar electrokinetic chromatography using sodium dodecyl sulfate as separation additive. Varying relative zone lengths were obtained by applying identical initial separation zone lengths but different total lengths of the capillaries. Plate numbers of a homologous series of omega-phenylalcohols were measured to indicate the effect of both a changing relative zone length during the run and a counter pressure applied on the cathodic buffer reservoir. The magnitude and the course of these plate numbers are discussed on the basis of models for flow profile superposition and flow profile deformation which are caused by an intersegmental pressure arising at the boundary between the two buffer zones with different electroosmotic flow velocities. Calculation of the intersegmental pressure and of the resulting laminar flow components in the buffer zones on the basis of some equations for electroosmotic and hydrodynamic flow supported the interpretation that a long background buffer zone should be avoided

  1. Analysis of efficiency and profitability of franchise services

    OpenAIRE

    GARCÍA MARTIN, CONSTANTINO JOSE; Medal Bartual, Amparo; Peris-Ortiz, Marta

    2014-01-01

    The present study analyses the relative efficiency of franchise services and characterises the best companies, confirming the relationship between efficiency and profit. These companies are from the trade and other services sector , the main group of service-providing companies in the Spanish economy. The methodology calls for first comparing the relative efficiency of franchisers and ownership enterprises. Second, the focus turns to the most efficient franchise services, usin...

  2. Closing the Energy Efficiency Gap: A study linking demographics with barriers to adopting energy efficiency measures in the home

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pelenur, Marcos J.; Cruickshank, Heather J.

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents a study which linked demographic variables with barriers affecting the adoption of domestic energy efficiency measures in large UK cities. The aim was to better understand the ‘Energy Efficiency Gap’ and improve the effectiveness of future energy efficiency initiatives. The data for this study was collected from 198 general population interviews (1.5–10 min) carried out across multiple locations in Manchester and Cardiff. The demographic variables were statistically linked to the identified barriers using a modified chi-square test of association (first order Rao–Scott corrected to compensate for multiple response data), and the effect size was estimated with an odds-ratio test. The results revealed that strong associations exist between demographics and barriers, specifically for the following variables: sex; marital status; education level; type of dwelling; number of occupants in household; residence (rent/own); and location (Manchester/Cardiff). The results and recommendations were aimed at city policy makers, local councils, and members of the construction/retrofit industry who are all working to improve the energy efficiency of the domestic built environment. -- Highlights: ► 7 demographic variables linked to 8 barriers to adopting energy efficiency measures. ► A modified chi-square test for association was used (first order Rao–Scott corrected). ► Results revealed strong associations between most of the demographics and barriers. ► Data was collected from 198 interviews in the UK cities of Manchester and Cardiff. ► Specific recommendations are presented for regional policy makers and industry.

  3. Mobilization Characteristics and Strategies to Improve Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Mobilization and Collection in Patients with Chronic Granulomatous Disease and Severe Combined Immunodeficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panch, Sandhya R.; Yau, Yu Ying; Kang, Elizabeth M.; De Ravin, Suk See; Malech, Harry L.; Leitman, Susan F.

    2014-01-01

    Background G-CSF mobilized autologous hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) may be collected by apheresis of patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) and severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) for use in gene therapy trials. CD34+ cell mobilization has not been well characterized in such patients. Study Design and Methods We retrospectively evaluated CD34+ cell mobilization and collection in 73 consecutive CGD and SCID patients and in 99 age, weight and G-CSF dose-matched healthy allogeneic controls. Results In subjects aged ≤20 years, day 5 pre-apheresis circulating CD34+ counts were significantly lower in CGD and SCID than in controls; mean peak CD34+ cells 58, 64, and 87/uL, respectively, p=0.01. The SCIDs had lower CD34+ collection efficiency than CGDs and controls; mean efficiency 40%, 63% and 57%, respectively, p=0.003. In subjects >20 years, the CGDs had significantly lower CD34+ cell mobilization than controls; mean peak CD34+ cells 41 and 113/uL, respectively, p<0.0001. In a multivariate analysis, lower sedimentation rate (ESR) at mobilization was significantly correlated with better CD34+ cell mobilization, p=0.007. In SCIDs, CD34 collection efficiency was positively correlated with higher red cell indices (MCV: R2=0.77; MCH: R2=0.94; MCHC: R2=0.7, p<0.007) but not hemoglobin. Conclusions CGD and SCID populations are characterized by significantly less robust CD34+ HPC mobilization than healthy controls. The presence of active inflammation/infection as suggested by an elevated ESR may negatively impact mobilization. Among SCIDs, markedly reduced CD34 collection efficiencies were related to iron deficiency, wherein decreased red cell size and density may impair apheresis cell separation mechanics. PMID:25143186

  4. Species-specific accumulation of dioxin related compounds in cetaceans collected from Japanese coastal waters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kajiwara, N.; Watanabe, M.; Tanabe, S. [Center for Marine Environmental Studies (CMES), Ehime Univ. (Japan); Amano, M. [Ocean Research Inst., Univ. of Tokyo, Iwate (Japan); Yamada, T. [National Science Museum, Tokyo (Japan)

    2004-09-15

    Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) are extremely hazardous and persistent chemicals identified as contaminants in chlorophenols, herbicides, fly ash and other incineration products. Dioxin-like PCBs including non- and mono-ortho coplanar PCBs are referred to as dioxin related compounds and are evaluated on par with PCDD/Fs in environmental risks since they have a high toxicity, similar to that of PCDD/Fs. These congeners have a range of physicochemical characteristics, which profoundly affect their persistence, environmental distribution, and bioaccumulation in aquatic food chains. Fish-eating wildlife such as marine mammals are particularly vulnerable to such contamination given their long lives, high trophic level, relative inability to metabolize many persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and the biomagnification of these contaminants in aquatic food chains. However, most studies dealing with PCDDs and PCDFs in marine mammals have been carried out on pinnipeds, and data on PCDD/Fs levels in cetaceans are scarce. The present study is aimed at understanding the recent pattern of contamination by dioxin related compounds including non- and mono-ortho coplanar PCBs and PCDD/Fs in three cetacean species collected from Japanese coastal waters during 1998-2001, and also to discuss the factors determining the accumulation.

  5. Photovoltaic conversion efficiency in copper-phthalocyanine/perylenetetracarboxylic acid benzimidazole heterojunction solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsutsui, Tetsuo [Dept. of Materials Science and Technology, Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan); Nakashima, Takuya [Dept. of Materials Science and Technology, Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan); Fujita, Yoshimasa [Dept. of Materials Science and Technology, Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan); Saito, Shogo [Dept. of Materials Science and Technology, Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan)

    1995-04-01

    Energy conversion efficiency of organic heterojuction-type solar cells was analyzed based on a simplified model. Energy conversion efficiency was expressed by four terms, a proton collection factor, a voltage output factor, an average quantum efficiency of photo-carrier generation and a fill factor. Meanings of low values of former two terms were discussed. (orig.)

  6. ICLIC : interactive categorization of large image collections

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Der Corput, Paul; van Wijk, Jarke J.

    2016-01-01

    We present a new approach for the analysis of large image collections. We argue that categorization plays an important role in this process, not only to label images as end result, but also during exploration. Furthermore, to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the categorization process we

  7. Relationships of efficiency to reproductive disorders in Danish milk production: a stochastic frontier analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawson, L G; Bruun, J; Coelli, T; Agger, J F; Lund, M

    2004-01-01

    Relationships of various reproductive disorders and milk production performance of Danish dairy farms were investigated. A stochastic frontier production function was estimated using data collected in 1998 from 514 Danish dairy farms. Measures of farm-level milk production efficiency relative to this production frontier were obtained, and relationships between milk production efficiency and the incidence risk of reproductive disorders were examined. There were moderate positive relationships between milk production efficiency and retained placenta, induction of estrus, uterine infections, ovarian cysts, and induction of birth. Inclusion of reproductive management variables showed that these moderate relationships disappeared, but directions of coefficients for almost all those variables remained the same. Dystocia showed a weak negative correlation with milk production efficiency. Farms that were mainly managed by young farmers had the highest average efficiency scores. The estimated milk losses due to inefficiency averaged 1142, 488, and 256 kg of energy-corrected milk per cow, respectively, for low-, medium-, and high-efficiency herds. It is concluded that the availability of younger cows, which enabled farmers to replace cows with reproductive disorders, contributed to high cow productivity in efficient farms. Thus, a high replacement rate more than compensates for the possible negative effect of reproductive disorders. The use of frontier production and efficiency/inefficiency functions to analyze herd data may enable dairy advisors to identify inefficient herds and to simulate the effect of alternative management procedures on the individual herd's efficiency.

  8. G20 Clean Energy, and Energy Efficiency Deployment and Policy Progress

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2011-07-01

    G-20 Clean Energy, and Energy Efficiency Deployment and Policy Progress, a report prepared by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in collaboration with the G-20 Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Working Group, provides an overview of clean energy and energy efficiency technology deployment and summarises support policies in place across G-20 countries. The report highlights that while clean energy technology deployment has made steady progress and energy efficiency improvements have been made, continued reliance on fossil fuels to meet growth in global energy demand presents a significant challenge. Scaling-up the deployment of renewable energy, in addition to improving end-use efficiency, enhancing the efficiency of fossil fuel based power generation, and supporting the widespread deployment of CCS will, therefore, also be crucial aspects of the transition to a cleaner energy future. Because the G-20 group of countries represent close to 80% of energy-related CO2 emissions, by developing and deploying energy efficiency and clean energy technologies, they are presented with a unique opportunity to make collective progress in transitioning the global energy system. IEA Deputy Executive Director Richard Jones emphasised the importance of G-20 efforts, saying, 'The IEA welcomes this important collaboration with the G-20. Enhanced deployment of clean energy technologies and of energy efficiency improvements offers energy security and environmental benefits. It will also enable cost savings over the medium and long term -- an aspect that is particularly relevant at a time of economic uncertainty. We believe that enhanced policy assessment and analysis, building on this initial report, will enable governments to take more cost effective and efficient policy decisions.' This report was issued on the authority of the IEA Executive Director, it does not necessarily represent the views of IEA Member countries or the G20.

  9. G20 Clean Energy, and Energy Efficiency Deployment and Policy Progress

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2011-07-01

    G-20 Clean Energy, and Energy Efficiency Deployment and Policy Progress, a report prepared by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in collaboration with the G-20 Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Working Group, provides an overview of clean energy and energy efficiency technology deployment and summarises support policies in place across G-20 countries. The report highlights that while clean energy technology deployment has made steady progress and energy efficiency improvements have been made, continued reliance on fossil fuels to meet growth in global energy demand presents a significant challenge. Scaling-up the deployment of renewable energy, in addition to improving end-use efficiency, enhancing the efficiency of fossil fuel based power generation, and supporting the widespread deployment of CCS will, therefore, also be crucial aspects of the transition to a cleaner energy future. Because the G-20 group of countries represent close to 80% of energy-related CO2 emissions, by developing and deploying energy efficiency and clean energy technologies, they are presented with a unique opportunity to make collective progress in transitioning the global energy system. IEA Deputy Executive Director Richard Jones emphasised the importance of G-20 efforts, saying, 'The IEA welcomes this important collaboration with the G-20. Enhanced deployment of clean energy technologies and of energy efficiency improvements offers energy security and environmental benefits. It will also enable cost savings over the medium and long term -- an aspect that is particularly relevant at a time of economic uncertainty. We believe that enhanced policy assessment and analysis, building on this initial report, will enable governments to take more cost effective and efficient policy decisions.' This report was issued on the authority of the IEA Executive Director, it does not necessarily represent the views of IEA Member countries or the G20.

  10. Controlling of water collection ability by an elasticity-regulated bioinspired fiber.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Sijie; Feng, Shile; Hou, Yongping; Zheng, Yongmei

    2015-03-01

    A special artificial spider silk is presented which is fabricated by using both an elastic polymer and a fiber, and the water collection behavior is investigated. Through exerting tension in varying degree, the length of the three-phase contact line (TCL) and the area of spindle knot can be regulated readily, which makes a great contribution to the improvement of collecting efficiency and water-hanging ability. The water-hanging ability can be predicted at a given stretching ratio according to the given expression of the TCL. As a result, liquid capture or release of distinct measure can be achieved via exerting tension. This research is helpful to design smart materials for developing applications in fogwater collection, dehumidification, high-efficiency humidity control, and controllable adhesion. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Evolution of investment costs related to wood energy collective installations (2000-2006). Final report - Synthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-04-01

    Based on a survey on 90 French projects, and on a comparison with 76 German projects and 36 Austrian projects, this document proposes a synthesis of a study which aimed at identifying and analysing the evolution of investment costs for wood collective heating systems between 2000 and 2006. Data are analysed and commented while stressing their limitations which are related to their quality, to project heterogeneity, to economic value scattering. The evolution of investment costs of French projects is analysed in terms of global cost, and of items (heat production, public works, studies and construction, item ratios)

  12. The electrolysis of a carbonate-borate solution with a platinum anode : II. Relation between current efficiency and perborate concentration

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wiel, van der P.M.; Janssen, L.J.J.; Hoogland, J.G.

    1971-01-01

    The current efficiency R (cor. for the chem. disproportionation of H2O2 in the bulk of electrolyte) of the electrolytic formation of perborate decreases with increasing concn. of H2O2. The factors causing this decrease were investigated. The relation between R and H2O2% and the diffusion coeff. of

  13. Energy efficiency in U.S. residential rental housing: Adoption rates and impact on rent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Im, Jongho; Seo, Youngme; Cetin, Kristen S.; Singh, Jasmeet

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: •Rental units listings collected and analyzed for 10 U.S. cities. •Energy efficient features included in 5.3–21.6% of rental units in each city. •The most common efficient features are lighting and appliance upgrades. •Propensity score matching and conditional mean comparison methods used. •Generally, energy efficient features increases the units’ rent, overall from 6% to 14%. -- Abstract: For 118 million residential housing units in the U.S., there is currently a gap between the potential energy savings that can be achieved through the use of existing energy efficiency technologies, and the actual level of energy savings realized, particularly for the 37% of housing units that are considered residential rental properties. Additional quantifiable benefits are needed beyond energy savings to help further motivate residential property owners to invest in energy efficiency upgrades. This research focuses on assessing the adoption of energy efficient upgrades in U.S. residential housing and the impact on rental prices. Ten U.S. cities are chosen for analysis; these cities vary in size across multiple climate zones, and represent a diverse set of housing market conditions. Data was collected for over 159,000 rental property listings, their characteristics, and their energy efficiency measures listed in rental housing postings across each city. Following an extensive data quality control process, over thirty different types energy efficient features were identified. The level of adoption was determined for each city, ranging from 5.3% to 21.6%. Efficient lighting and appliances were among the most common, with many features doubling as energy efficient and other desirable aesthetic or comfort improvements. Then using propensity score matching and conditional mean comparison methods, the relative impact on rent charged in each city was calculated, which ranged from a 6% to 14.1% increase in rent for properties with energy efficient features

  14. Characteristics of Charging and Collection of 10-nm-Class Ultrafine Nanoparticles in an Electrostatic Precipitator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Bang Woo; Kim, Hak Joon; Kim, Yong Jin; Song, Dong Keun; Hong, Won Seok; Shin, Wan Ho

    2011-01-01

    The charging of 10-nm-class nanoparticles in an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) according to particle charging ratio has been investigated and compared to the diffusion effect of the nanoparticles. The competition between the charging probability and the diffusion loss effect determines the collection efficiency of nanoparticles in the ESP. The collection efficiency of nanoparticles decreased continuously with decreasing particle diameter. This indicates that the partial charging effect of 10-nm-class nanoparticles is more dominant than their diffusion loss effect in the ESP for nanoparticles in the particle size range of less than 10 nm. The charging ratios based on unipolar diffusion charging calculations were in good agreement with the experimental collection efficiencies for nanoparticles less than 10 nm in diameter

  15. Isotopic tracer studies to evaluate relative efficiency of different forms of P for growing rice on different soil types

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dash, R N; Mohanty, S K; Patnaik, S [Central Rice Research Inst., Cuttack (India)

    1977-12-01

    The relative efficiency of different forms of P in relation to their time of application for growing rice on different soil types has been studied by using /sup 32/P tagged mono-, di-, and tri-calcium phosphate, ammonium nitrate phosphate containing all the P in the citrate-soluble form and potassium meta-phosphate. P-deficient acid laterite soil from Burdwan, red loam soil from Peramanpur and calcareous black soil from Hyderabad were used in the study. The different P forms were found to be compatible in the acid, red and laterite soils when the phosphorus forms were primed to moist acid soils 2 weeks prior to flooding. On application at flooding, fertilizers containing citrate-soluble phosphate were found to be less effective as compared to those containing water-soluble phosphate. In the calcareous black soil, however, the fertilizers, containing insoluble or citrate-soluble phosphates were not as efficient as the water-soluble forms, possibly because of lack of dissolution process. Potassium meta-phosphate was found to be effective in all the soil types whether applied at flooding or primed to the moist soil.

  16. USE Efficiency: an innovative educational programme for energy efficiency in buildings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadopoulos, Theofilos A.; Christoforidis, Georgios C.; Papagiannis, Grigoris K.

    2017-10-01

    Power engineers are expected to play a pivotal role in transforming buildings into smart and energy-efficient structures, which is necessary since buildings are responsible for a considerable amount of the total energy consumption. To fulfil this role, a holistic approach in education is required, tackling subjects traditionally related to other engineering disciplines. In this context, USE Efficiency is an inter-institutional and interdisciplinary educational programme implemented in nine European Universities targeting energy efficiency in buildings. The educational programme effectively links professors, students, engineers and industry experts, creating a unique learning environment. The scope of the paper is to present the methodology and the general framework followed in the USE Efficiency programme. The proposed methodology can be adopted for the design and implementation of educational programmes on energy efficiency and sustainable development in higher education. End-of-course survey results showed positive feedback from the participating students, indicating the success of the programme.

  17. THE EFFICIENCY OF TENNIS DOUBLES SCORING SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geoff Pollard

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper a family of scoring systems for tennis doubles for testing the hypothesis that pair A is better than pair B versus the alternative hypothesis that pair B is better than A, is established. This family or benchmark of scoring systems can be used as a benchmark against which the efficiency of any doubles scoring system can be assessed. Thus, the formula for the efficiency of any doubles scoring system is derived. As in tennis singles, one scoring system based on the play-the-loser structure is shown to be more efficient than the benchmark systems. An expression for the relative efficiency of two doubles scoring systems is derived. Thus, the relative efficiency of the various scoring systems presently used in doubles can be assessed. The methods of this paper can be extended to a match between two teams of 2, 4, 8, …doubles pairs, so that it is possible to establish a measure for the relative efficiency of the various systems used for tennis contests between teams of players.

  18. An empirical study based on BSC-DEA to measure the relative efficiencies of different health care centers in province of Semnan, Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azam Ghotbuee

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we present an empirical investigation to measure the relative efficiency of seven health care centers in province of Semnan, Iran, which were under the coverage of social security organization of Iran. The proposed model of this paper uses a hybrid of balanced score card and data envelopment analysis for performance measurement. The proposed sudy uses four perspectives of balanced score card including learning and growth, internal process, customer and financial perspectives and within each perspective, data envelopment analysis is adopted so that the outputs of each perspective are used as inputs of the other perspective. The preliminary results indicate that all seven units perform relatively well and the overall efficiency of all units in this province is 0.769.

  19. Collective management of copyright and related rights

    CERN Document Server

    2010-01-01

    In the course of the last decade, collective management organizations (CMOs) have become the nerve centres of copyright licensing in virtually every country. Their expertise and knowledge of copyright law and management have proven essential to make copyright work in the digital age. This book, an extensively revised and updated edition of the only major work on the legal status of CMOs, offers an indepth analysis of the various operating CMO models, their rights and obligations vis-a-vis both users and members, acquisition of legal authority to license, and (most important) the rights to license digital uses of protected material and build (or improve current) information systems to deal with ever more complex rights management and licensing tasks. All the chapters have been updated since the 2005 edition, and a new chapter on multiterritorial licensing has been added. Factors considered include the following: * role of 'families' such as the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers ...

  20. Driving Green: Toward the Prediction and Influence of Efficient Driving Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newsome, William D.

    Sub-optimal efficiency in activities involving the consumption of fossil fuels, such as driving, contribute to a miscellany of negative environmental, political, economic and social externalities. Demonstrations of the effectiveness of feedback interventions can be found in countless organizational settings, as can demonstrations of individual differences in sensitivity to feedback interventions. Mechanisms providing feedback to drivers about fuel economy are becoming standard equipment in most new vehicles, but vary considerably in their constitution. A keystone of Radical Behaviorism is the acknowledgement that verbal behavior appears to play a role in mediating apparent susceptibility to influence by contingencies of varying delay. In the current study, samples of verbal behavior (rules) were collected in the context of a feedback intervention to improve driving efficiency. In an analysis of differences in individual responsiveness to the feedback intervention, the rate of novel rules per week generated by drivers is revealed to account for a substantial proportion of the variability in relative efficiency gains across participants. The predictive utility of conceptual tools, such as the basic distinction among contingency-shaped and rule governed behavior, the elaboration of direct-acting and indirect-acting contingencies, and the psychological flexibility model, is bolstered by these findings.

  1. Waste Collection Vehicle Routing Problem: Literature Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui Han

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Waste generation is an issue which has caused wide public concern in modern societies, not only for the quantitative rise of the amount of waste generated, but also for the increasing complexity of some products and components. Waste collection is a highly relevant activity in the reverse logistics system and how to collect waste in an efficient way is an area that needs to be improved. This paper analyzes the major contribution about Waste Collection Vehicle Routing Problem (WCVRP in literature. Based on a classification of waste collection (residential, commercial and industrial, firstly the key findings for these three types of waste collection are presented. Therefore, according to the model (Node Routing Problems and Arc Routing problems used to represent WCVRP, different methods and techniques are analyzed in this paper to solve WCVRP. This paper attempts to serve as a roadmap of research literature produced in the field of WCVRP.

  2. M-GCAT: interactively and efficiently constructing large-scale multiple genome comparison frameworks in closely related species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Messeguer Xavier

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Due to recent advances in whole genome shotgun sequencing and assembly technologies, the financial cost of decoding an organism's DNA has been drastically reduced, resulting in a recent explosion of genomic sequencing projects. This increase in related genomic data will allow for in depth studies of evolution in closely related species through multiple whole genome comparisons. Results To facilitate such comparisons, we present an interactive multiple genome comparison and alignment tool, M-GCAT, that can efficiently construct multiple genome comparison frameworks in closely related species. M-GCAT is able to compare and identify highly conserved regions in up to 20 closely related bacterial species in minutes on a standard computer, and as many as 90 (containing 75 cloned genomes from a set of 15 published enterobacterial genomes in an hour. M-GCAT also incorporates a novel comparative genomics data visualization interface allowing the user to globally and locally examine and inspect the conserved regions and gene annotations. Conclusion M-GCAT is an interactive comparative genomics tool well suited for quickly generating multiple genome comparisons frameworks and alignments among closely related species. M-GCAT is freely available for download for academic and non-commercial use at: http://alggen.lsi.upc.es/recerca/align/mgcat/intro-mgcat.html.

  3. Collection, evaluation and classification of Iranian confectionary ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Characterization of confectionary sunflower germplasm resources is critical to their efficient collection and management as well as for breeding programs. Thirty six (36) ... Principal component analysis resulted in the first four components with Eigen value greater than one accounting for 78% of the total variation. The results ...

  4. A new electrostatic on-line collection-system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dufour, J.P.; Del Moral, R.; Fleury, A.

    1981-06-01

    The working conditions of a new on-line electrostatic collection system are presented. The main charactersitics are high efficiency (reaching 20%) and short delay time (down to the millisecond). The salient features of specific devices for measurements of absolute cross sections, recoil range distributions and angular distributions are given

  5. The effect of the downturn in oil prices on the relative efficiency of government expenditure in the GCC countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Metwally, M.M.; Perera, N.

    1995-01-01

    This paper tests a control model to discover the effect of the decline in oil prices on the relative efficiency of government expenditure in the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The econometric analysis shows that as a consequence of the decline in oil prices, the GCC countries need a relatively higher proportional rate of growth in their government expenditure to maintain a given percentage of income growth in the long run. This may, however, prove difficult, which necessitates greater reliance on other means of control. (author)

  6. Evaluation of two different protocols for peripheral blood stem cell collection with the Fresenius AS 104 blood cell separator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menichella, G; Lai, M; Pierelli, L; Vittori, M; Serafini, R; Ciarli, M; Foddai, M L; Salerno, G; Sica, S; Scambia, G; Leone, G; Bizzi, B

    1997-01-01

    Reconstitution of hematopoiesis by means of peripheral blood stem cells is a valid alternative to autologous bone marrow transplantation. The aim of this investigation was to increase the efficiency of collection of circulating blood progenitor cells and to obtain a purer product for transplant. We carried out leukapheresis procedures with the Fresenius AS 104 blood cell separator, using two different protocols, the previously used PBSC-LYM and a new mononuclear cell collection program. Both programs were highly effective in collecting mononuclear cells (MNC) and CD34+ cells. Some differences were found, especially regarding MNC yield and efficiencies. There are remarkable differences in the efficiency of collection of CD34+ cells (62.38% with the new program as opposed to 31.69% with the older one). Linear regression analysis showed a negative correlation between blood volume processed and MNC efficiency only for the PBSC-LYM program. Differences were also observed in the degree of inverse correlation existing in both programs between patients' white blood cell precount and MNC collection efficiency. The inverse correlation was stronger for the PBSC-LYM program. Seven patients with solid tumors and hematologic malignancies received high dose chemotherapy and were subsequently transplanted with peripheral blood stem cells collected using the new protocol. All patients obtained a complete and stable engraftment with the reinfusion product collected with one or two leukapheresis procedures. High efficiencies and yields were observed in the new protocol for MNC and CD34+ cells. These were able to effect rapid and complete bone marrow recovery after myeloablative chemotherapy.

  7. Distributed privacy preserving data collection

    KAUST Repository

    Xue, Mingqiang

    2011-01-01

    We study the distributed privacy preserving data collection problem: an untrusted data collector (e.g., a medical research institute) wishes to collect data (e.g., medical records) from a group of respondents (e.g., patients). Each respondent owns a multi-attributed record which contains both non-sensitive (e.g., quasi-identifiers) and sensitive information (e.g., a particular disease), and submits it to the data collector. Assuming T is the table formed by all the respondent data records, we say that the data collection process is privacy preserving if it allows the data collector to obtain a k-anonymized or l-diversified version of T without revealing the original records to the adversary. We propose a distributed data collection protocol that outputs an anonymized table by generalization of quasi-identifier attributes. The protocol employs cryptographic techniques such as homomorphic encryption, private information retrieval and secure multiparty computation to ensure the privacy goal in the process of data collection. Meanwhile, the protocol is designed to leak limited but non-critical information to achieve practicability and efficiency. Experiments show that the utility of the anonymized table derived by our protocol is in par with the utility achieved by traditional anonymization techniques. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.

  8. Efficient boiler operations sourcebook

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Payne, F.W. (comp.)

    1985-01-01

    This book emphasizes the practical aspects of industrial and commercial boiler operations. It starts with a comprehensive review of general combustion and boiler fundamentals and then deals with specific efficiency improvement methods, and the cost savings which result. The book has the following chapter headings: boiler combustion fundamentals; boiler efficiency goals; major factors controlling boiler efficiency; boiler efficiency calculations; heat loss; graphical solutions; preparation for boiler testing; boiler test procedures; efficiency-related boiler maintenance procedures; boiler tune-up; boiler operational modifications; effect of water side and gas side scale deposits; load management; auxillary equipment to increase boiler efficiency; air preheaters and economizers; other types of auxillary equipment; combustion control systems and instrumentation; boiler O/sub 2/ trim controls; should you purchase a new boiler.; financial evaluation procedures; case studies. The last chapter includes a case study of a boiler burning pulverized coal and a case study of stoker-fired coal.

  9. Selection and screening of microbial consortia for efficient and ecofriendly degradation of plastic garbage collected from urban and rural areas of Bangalore, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skariyachan, Sinosh; Megha, M; Kini, Meghna Niranjan; Mukund, Kamath Manali; Rizvi, Alya; Vasist, Kiran

    2015-01-01

    Industrialization and urbanization have led to massive accumulation of plastic garbage all over India. The persistence of plastic in soil and aquatic environment has become ecological threat to the metropolitan city such as Bangalore, India. Present study investigates an ecofriendly, efficient and cost-effective approach for plastic waste management by the screening of novel microbial consortia which are capable of degrading plastic polymers. Plastic-contaminated soil and water samples were collected from six hot spots of urban and rural areas of Bangalore. The plastic-degrading bacteria were enriched, and degradation ability was determined by zone of clearance method. The percentage of polymer degradation was initially monitored by weight loss method, and the main isolates were characterized by standard microbiology protocols. These isolates were used to form microbial consortia, and the degradation efficiency of the consortia was compared with individual isolate and known strains obtained from the Microbial Type Culture Collection (MTCC) and Gene Bank, India. One of the main enzymes responsible for polymer degradation was identified, and the biodegradation mechanism was hypothesized by bioinformatics studies. From this study, it is evident that the bacteria utilized the plastic polymer as a sole source of carbon and showed 20-50% weight reduction over a period of 120 days. The two main bacteria responsible for the degradation were microbiologically characterized to be Pseudomonas spp. These bacteria could grow optimally at 37 °C in pH 9.0 and showed 35-40% of plastic weight reduction over 120 days. These isolates were showed better degradation ability than known strains from MTCC. The current study further revealed that the microbial consortia formulated by combining Psuedomonas spp. showed 40 plastic weight reduction over a period of 90 days. Further, extracellular lipase, one of the main enzymes responsible for polymer degradation, was identified. The

  10. Efficient Anonymous Authenticated Key Agreement Scheme for Wireless Body Area Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tong Li

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Wireless body area networks (WBANs are widely used in telemedicine, which can be utilized for real-time patients monitoring and home health-care. The sensor nodes in WBANs collect the client’s physiological data and transmit it to the medical center. However, the clients’ personal information is sensitive and there are many security threats in the extra-body communication. Therefore, the security and privacy of client’s physiological data need to be ensured. Many authentication protocols for WBANs have been proposed in recent years. However, the existing protocols fail to consider the key update phase. In this paper, we propose an efficient authenticated key agreement scheme for WBANs and add the key update phase to enhance the security of the proposed scheme. In addition, session keys are generated during the registration phase and kept secretly, thus reducing computation cost in the authentication phase. The performance analysis demonstrates that our scheme is more efficient than the currently popular related schemes.

  11. Fabrication of Biomimetic Fog-Collecting Superhydrophilic-Superhydrophobic Surface Micropatterns Using Femtosecond Lasers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kostal, Elisabeth; Stroj, Sandra; Kasemann, Stephan; Matylitsky, Victor; Domke, Matthias

    2018-03-06

    The exciting functionalities of natural superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic surfaces served as inspiration for a variety of biomimetic designs. In particular, the combination of both extreme wetting states to micropatterns opens up interesting applications, as the example of the fog-collecting Namib Desert beetle shows. In this paper, the beetle's elytra were mimicked by a novel three-step fabrication method to increase the fog-collection efficiency of glasses. In the first step, a double-hierarchical surface structure was generated on Pyrex wafers using femtosecond laser structuring, which amplified the intrinsic wetting property of the surface and made it superhydrophilic (water contact angle 150°). In the last step, the Teflon-like coating was selectively removed by fs-laser ablation to uncover superhydrophilic spots below the superhydrophobic surface, following the example of the Namib Desert beetle's fog-collecting elytra. To investigate the influence on the fog-collection behavior, (super)hydrophilic, (super)hydrophobic, and low and high contrast wetting patterns were fabricated on glass wafers using selected combinations of these three processing steps and were exposed to fog in an artificial nebulizer setup. This experiment revealed that high-contrast wetting patterns collected the highest amount of fog and enhanced the fog-collection efficiency by nearly 60% compared to pristine Pyrex glass. The comparison of the fog-collection behavior of the six samples showed that the superior fog-collection efficiency of surface patterns with extreme wetting contrast is due to the combination of water attraction and water repellency: the superhydrophilic spots act as drop accumulation areas, whereas the surrounding superhydrophobic areas allow a fast water transportation caused by gravity. The presented method enables a fast and flexible surface functionalization of a broad range of materials including transparent substrates, which offers exciting possibilities for

  12. Differential efficiencies of dip-net sampling versus sampling surface-floating pupal exuviae in a biodiversity survey of Chironomidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonard Charles Ferrington Jr

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Relative efficiencies of standard dip-net sampling (SDN versus collections of surface-floating pupal exuviae (SFPE were determined for detecting Chironomidae at catchment and site scales and at subfamily/tribe-, genus- and species-levels based on simultaneous, equal-effort sampling on a monthly basis for one year during a biodiversity assessment of Bear Run Nature Reserve. Results showed SFPE was more efficient than SDN at catchment scales for detecting both genera and species. At site scales, SDN sampling was more efficient for assessment of a first-order site. No consistent pattern, except for better efficiency of SFPE to detect Orthocladiinae genera, was observed at genus-level for two second-order sites. However, SFPE was consistently more efficient at detecting species of Orthocladiinae, Chironomini and Tanytarsini at the second order sites. SFPE was more efficient at detecting both genera and species at two third-order sites. The differential efficiencies of the two methods are concluded to be related to stream order and size, substrate size, flow and water velocity, depth and habitat heterogeneity, and differential ability to discriminate species among pupal exuviae specimens versus larval specimens. Although both approaches are considered necessary for comprehensive biodiversity assessments of Chironomidae, our results suggest that there is an optimal, but different, allocation of sampling effort for detecting Chironomidae across stream orders and at differing spatial and taxonomic scales.Article submitted 13. August 2014, accepted 31. October 2014, published 22. December 2014.

  13. Development of Software Tools for ADA Compliance Data Collection, Management, and Inquiry

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-07-01

    In this NUTC research project, the UNR research team developed an iOS application (named NDOT ADA Data) to efficiently and intuitively collect ADA inventory data with iPhones or iPads. This tool was developed to facilitate NDOT ADA data collect...

  14. 77 FR 41798 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection, Comments Requested: CRS Customer...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-16

    ... Collection Under Review. The Department of Justice (DOJ), Community Relations Service (CRS) will be..., Community Relations Service (CRS). (4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as well as... Police, Education, Human Relations agencies, heads of public advocacy organizations, and vested formal...

  15. On the Design of Energy Efficient Optical Networks with Software Defined Networking Control Across Core and Access Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Jiayuan; Yan, Ying; Dittmann, Lars

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a Software Defined Networking (SDN) control plane based on an overlay GMPLS control model. The SDN control platform manages optical core networks (WDM/DWDM networks) and the associated access networks (GPON networks), which makes it possible to gather global information...... and enable wider areas' energy efficiency networking. The energy related information of the networks and the types of the traffic flows are collected and utilized for the end-to-end QoS provision. Dynamic network simulation results show that by applying different routing algorithms according to the type...... of traffic in the core networks, the energy efficiency of the network is improved without compromising the quality of service....

  16. The relative efficiency of three methods of estimating herbage mass ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The methods involved were randomly placed circular quadrats; randomly placed narrow strips; and disc meter sampling. Disc meter and quadrat sampling appear to be more efficient than strip sampling. In a subsequent small plot grazing trial the estimates of herbage mass, using the disc meter, had a consistent precision ...

  17. Fuel efficiency of the Austrian passenger vehicle fleet-Analysis of trends in the technological profile and related impacts on CO2 emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meyer, I.; Wessely, S.

    2009-01-01

    This paper analyzes trends in the technological profile of the Austrian personnel vehicle fleet from 1990 to 2007. This includes the parameters of power, engine size and weight, which beyond the technological efficiency of the motor engine itself, are considered to be the main determinants of the fuel efficiency of the average car stock. Investigating the drivers of ever rising transport related greenhouse gas emissions is crucial in order to derive policies that strive towards more energy-efficient on-road passenger mobility. We focus on the efficacy of technological efficiency improvements in mitigating climate-relevant emissions from car use in light of shifting demand patterns towards bigger, heavier and more powerful cars. The analysis is descriptive in nature and based on a bottom-up database that was originally collated for the purpose of the present study. Technological data on car models, which includes tested fuel consumption, engine size, power and weight, is related to registered car stock and, in parts, to newly registered cars. From this, we obtain an original database of the Austrian passenger car fleet, i.e. information on consumer choice of specific car models, segregated by gasoline and diesel fuelled engines. Conclusions are derived for policies aimed at reducing the fossil fuel consumption of the moving vehicle fleet in order to contribute to a low carbon society.

  18. InvertNet: a new paradigm for digital access to invertebrate collections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris Dietrich

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available InvertNet, one of the three Thematic Collection Networks (TCNs funded in the first round of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections (ADBC program, is tasked with providing digital access to ~60 million specimens housed in 22 arthropod (primarily insect collections at institutions distributed throughout the upper midwestern USA. The traditional workflow for insect collection digitization involves manually keying information from specimen labels into a database and attaching a unique identifier label to each specimen. This remains the dominant paradigm, despite some recent attempts to automate various steps in the process using more advanced technologies. InvertNet aims to develop improved semi-automated, high-throughput workflows for digitizing and providing access to invertebrate collections that balance the need for speed and cost-effectiveness with long-term preservation of specimens and accuracy of data capture. The proposed workflows build on recent methods for digitizing and providing access to high-quality images of multiple specimens (e.g., entire drawers of pinned insects simultaneously. Limitations of previous approaches are discussed and possible solutions are proposed that incorporate advanced imaging and 3-D reconstruction technologies. InvertNet couples efficient digitization workflows with a highly robust network infrastructure capable of managing massive amounts of image data and related metadata and delivering high-quality images, including interactive 3-D reconstructions in real time via the Internet.

  19. Efficiency corrections in determining the (137)Cs inventory of environmental soil samples by using relative measurement method and GEANT4 simulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Gang; Liang, Yongfei; Xu, Jiayun; Bai, Lixin

    2015-08-01

    The determination of (137)Cs inventory is widely used to estimate the soil erosion or deposition rate. The generally used method to determine the activity of volumetric samples is the relative measurement method, which employs a calibration standard sample with accurately known activity. This method has great advantages in accuracy and operation only when there is a small difference in elemental composition, sample density and geometry between measuring samples and the calibration standard. Otherwise it needs additional efficiency corrections in the calculating process. The Monte Carlo simulations can handle these correction problems easily with lower financial cost and higher accuracy. This work presents a detailed description to the simulation and calibration procedure for a conventionally used commercial P-type coaxial HPGe detector with cylindrical sample geometry. The effects of sample elemental composition, density and geometry were discussed in detail and calculated in terms of efficiency correction factors. The effect of sample placement was also analyzed, the results indicate that the radioactive nuclides and sample density are not absolutely uniform distributed along the axial direction. At last, a unified binary quadratic functional relationship of efficiency correction factors as a function of sample density and height was obtained by the least square fitting method. This function covers the sample density and height range of 0.8-1.8 g/cm(3) and 3.0-7.25 cm, respectively. The efficiency correction factors calculated by the fitted function are in good agreement with those obtained by the GEANT4 simulations with the determination coefficient value greater than 0.9999. The results obtained in this paper make the above-mentioned relative measurements more accurate and efficient in the routine radioactive analysis of environmental cylindrical soil samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Logistics, Management and Efficiency

    OpenAIRE

    Mircea UDRESCU; Sandu CUTURELA

    2014-01-01

    The problem related to the efficiency of the management for organization is general being the concern off all managers. In the present essay we consider that the efficacy of the organization begins from the structural systemization of the organizational management into general management, management of logistics and management of production which demands a new managerial process, more competitive based on economic efficiency.